23 May 2011

During the week when key broadband policy negotiations are taking place at the European Commission, Hughes Europe, the European subsidiary of global leader in satellite broadband solutions, Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), will demonstrate the viability of consumer Ka-band satellite broadband via a satellite showcase event.

 

On Tuesday, 24 May 2011, as European politicians debate the future of broadband services throughout the European Union, Hughes Europe and fellow members of the VATM (Association of Telecommunications and Value-Added Service Providers, Germany), will hold a series of press briefings and presentations to representatives of all parties at the Embassy of Nordrhein-Westfalia in Brussels (rue Montoyer 47, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium). As part of this event, the VATM will set up a home environment with the latest in consumer electronic equipment― including television, video games, tablet computers, wireless networks, and VoIP telephone―to demonstrate that they work equally effectively over a satellite connection.

 

“At this critical time, if the European Commission wants to make broadband available to 100 percent of the population by the end of 2012, any solution must realistically include satellite broadband,” stated Christopher Britton, managing director, Hughes Europe. “This hands-on exhibition will prove conclusively that satellite can deliver the speeds and quality required to support the latest applications and devices that are now considered essential by consumers—

and it’s available everywhere, reaching the millions of households unserved or underserved by terrestrial technologies.”

 

This event follows a similar and highly successful Hughes ‘Satellite Home of The Future’ demonstration to policymakers at the FCC and in Congress, held in late 2009 in Washington, D.C., following which the federal government established a $100M program for satellite technology as part of the $7.2B national broadband stimulus program. Hughes was awarded $58.7M of that program, the largest and only nationwide award, which enables it to offer free equipment, installation, and discounted service to qualified customers living in areas  unserved by terrestrial broadband. Its success is reinforcing the company’s leadership in providing high-speed satellite Internet services, now with over 600,000 HughesNet^® consumer subscribers across the country.

 

 “There is increasing recognition within the European administration that every requirement that consumers and business users have and expect from a broadband connection can be effectively met by satellite,” continued Britton. “With the launch of HYLAS 1, Europe’s first dedicated, high-throughput Ka-band satellite, the full range of broadband services is available today―virtually everywhere, and at a price affordable by all.”