Hughes awarded Texas satellite broadband Internet services contract

Tony Bardo, of Hughes

Hughes Network Systems, LLC, a supplier of broadband satellite solutions and services, and a provider of managed network and application services, announced on June 27 that it has been awarded a contract by the State of Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) to provide primary business Internet and access continuity services.

The multiple award contract comes under the Texas Agency Network Next Generation (Tex-AN NG) Communications Technology Services program, and is for a period of five years.

“This contract changes the telecommunications landscape for Texas state and local government agencies,” said Tony Bardo, assistant vice president for government solutions at Hughes. “Many remotely located government offices simply lack access to broadband technology for business Internet service and are unable to run the high-bandwidth applications and technologies that are critical to effective government operations. Adding satellite broadband to the suite of available technology offerings enables these offices to harness the broadband capacity and speed they need to serve the people of Texas.”

Tex-AN NG supports the communications needs of more than 600 entities, including Texas agencies and other publicly-funded entities, such as cities, counties, councils of government, independent school districts, institutions of higher education and assistance organizations. Under the contract, Hughes is offering services with dedicated bandwidth using its advanced HX satellite platform, which can be configured to provide a high Quality of Service (QoS) tailored for each remote terminal, resulting in a solution meeting the customer’s specific requirements.

In addition, services are available powered by the award-winning Hughes SPACEWAY 3 satellite -- the world’s first commercial satellite with onboard switching and routing:

• S-Plan service, ideal for large networks of 100 or more sites, connected via a leased-line backhaul to Internet VPN to share the Hughes SPACEWAY 3 Network Operations Center;
• D-Plan service, ideal for small networks, where each branch location has a Hughes satellite installation dedicated to a specific enterprise;
• Access continuity service providing backup capabilities for continuity of operations during loss of primary network service;
• Business Internet overlay service to augment the speeds and capacity of the S and D plans with additional bandwidth intended for Internet use only;
• Constant Bit Rate, on-demand, point-to-point connectivity between any two sites in a network under the S and D plans;
• Small office/home business Internet service, with download speeds of up to 5 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 1Mbps, along with HN9000 terminal equipment.

With 10 Gbps of Ka-band capacity, 100 times more than conventional Ku-band satellites, and employing multi-spot beam technology, SPACEWAY 3 delivers high performance and flexible networking cost-effectively for the largest multi-site agency network and single site customers alike.

Additionally, Tex-AN NG Hughes users will have access to a customer gateway providing real-time, online status reporting about any satellite, terrestrial and wireless network implementations.

“Tex-AN NG is shaping the future of telecommunications in Texas, and Hughes is excited to be a part of it,” added Bardo. “We are looking forward to providing satellite broadband business Internet service to state agencies and local government organizations.”