Hughes Adds Aeronautical Support to Award-Winning JUPITER System

Oct. 21, 2015

Hughes Network Systems, LLC announced a full suite of aeronautical mobility features and capabilities for its award-winning JUPITER™ System, that will enable service providers to offer industry-leading throughput performance and spectral efficiency in this demanding and rapidly growing market.

Coincident with today's announcement, Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. ("GEE") (Nasdaq: ENT), a worldwide provider of aircraft connectivity systems, operations solutions and media content to the travel industry, announced it has signed an agreement with Hughes to utilize Hughes' JUPITER System HT Aero Modem, including the core router module and JUPITER mobility technology, to power GEE's next-generation, high-performance broadband aeronautical service.

This newest version of Hughes' HT Aero Modem incorporates significant technological advances that will enable GEE to deliver industry-leading aeronautical services on any Ku-band satellite, including both wide beam and HTS capacity. With the capability of the Hughes modem to support fast and seamless beam switchover, within a satellite or between satellites, users of GEE's service will enjoy superior broadband service on a global basis.

"This new platform represents a significant advance in satellite-based mobility connectivity,  extending the capabilities of our JUPITER System—the mostly widely deployed HTS system in the world—to deliver high-performance mobility services across both HTS and conventional satellites," said Paul Gaske, executive vice president for Hughes. "Fully compatible with wide beam Ku-band and spot beam Ka-band satellite capacity, it positions mobility service providers to reliably and cost-effectively meet the continually growing demands of their customers to stay connected with high-speed Internet access virtually anywhere." 

"We're excited to expand our already strong partnership with Hughes and to incorporate this new technology to provide unrivaled connectivity to passengers," commented Dave Davis, CEO for GEE. "With the upcoming launch of our new Global Ku antenna, the impending launch of Ku HTS satellites and this new technology from Hughes, we anticipate massive strides forward in the global inflight connectivity market and continued improvements in the passenger experience."

The Hughes JUPITER System mobility option incorporates a number of important features, including hitless beam switching which preserves the TCP connection either within or between satellites; doppler compensation; fast out- route acquisition; and return channel spreading to ensure compliance with adjacent satellite interference regulations.