Satellite Technology Feature Article
September 15, 2009
Hughes Reaches Milestone in Brazil with Broadband Satellite Terminals
By Narayan Bhat, TMCnet Contributor
Hughes do Brazil, the Brazilian unit of American giant Hughes Network Systems, has said that the total number of broadband satellite terminals that it is operating in the Latin American country had now reached 10,000, a feat the company calls “a milestone” on its way to cover wider market in the South American continent.
The company offers broadband satellite network solutions and services called HughesNet that includes backup of MPLS networks, managed corporate networks, distance learning networks, high-speed Internet access and IPTV (News - Alert) solutions.
“Whether it's a classroom in rural Brazil or a banking center in Rio de Janeiro, customers from diverse segments such as education, retail, automotive, oil/gas, and government, count on Hughes to meet their broadband needs," said Delio Morais, president of Hughes do Brazil.
The Internet service that HughesNet offers is delivered via satellite. And, HughesNet uses conventional Ku-band satellites on a variety of geosynchronous satellites as well as Ka band service on the HNS owned and operated Spaceway 3 satellite.
The service was originally called DirecPC and was only available as a one-way satellite Internet option. In March 2006, the company, originally called DirecWay officially changed its name to HughesNet.
In Brazil, 20 percent of the broadband satellite terminals cater to retailers and another 20 percent provide basic and back-up connectivity to financial centers, while an additional 2,100 educational sites deliver interactive distance learning applications to more than 200,000 students in 4,000 remote classrooms, company officials said.
In the telecom market segment, over 3,200 Hughes terminals are used to complement services by terrestrial network providers.
These networks enable transmission of data, voice, video and multimedia applications to a number of sites covered by geostationary satellites.
Germantown, Maryland-based Hughes says it has so far shipped more than 1.9 million broadband satellite products to customers in over 100 countries.
Narayan Bhat is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Narayan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Kelly McGuire
