Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC is an American telecommunications company that specializes in providing satellite-based communication services for consumer and enterprise markets. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite internet services under the brand HughesNet. HughesNet has over a million subscribers in the Americas in late 2023, down from 1.4 million in early 2022. Hughes Network Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar, which acquired its former parent company, Hughes Communications, in 2011.
Hughes Communications was founded in 1971 under the name Digital Communication Corporation (DCC) by a group of seven engineers and a lawyer led by John Puente and Dr. Burton Edelson, who all previously worked together at Comsat Laboratories. With $40,000 in startup capital, the company operated from a garage in Rockville, Maryland, designing circuit boards for telecom related products.
By 1977, Digital Communications Corp. had 250 employees and $10.6 million in revenue. In 1978, Digital Communications Corp. was acquired by Microwave Associates for an undisclosed sum, becoming MA/COM-DCC and began developing satellite related products. The company invented the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) in 1985. That year, the company sold its first VSAT network to Wal-Mart, which used the “technology to connect retail stores in rural areas.” According to SatMagazine, “the global VSAT market is estimated to reach $10 billion by 2021.” In 1987, MA/COM-DCC was acquired by Hughes Aircraft Corporation for $105 million and renamed Hughes Communications.
In 2004, News Corp acquired a controlling interest in Hughes through a $6.5 billion purchase intended primarily for its DirecTV unit. DirecTV also began selling off its ownership interests, culminating in a $100 million sale to a private equity firm in 2005. As a result, Hughes became a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyTerra Communications Inc., which was controlled by the investment firm.
Hughes Communications was spun-off as an independent public company in 2007 and began trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol HUGH.
On February 14, 2011, Englewood, Colorado-based EchoStar announced it will acquire Hughes Communications, and its subsidiaries including its main operating subsidiary, Hughes Network Systems, for about $2 billion. The acquisition was completed on June 8, 2011, resulting in the dissolution of Hughes Communications into EchoStar and retaining Hughes Network Systems as a wholly-owned subsidiary of EchoStar.
In May 2024, Hughes Network Systems and Dish Network (which was acquired by EchoStar in 2023) announced a bundle of Dish satellite TV with Hughesnet satellite internet.
In 2012, Hughes launched the Jupiter (stylized as JUPITER) System, Hughes' VSAT ground system that provides high-performance terminals, increased gateway architecture, and advanced air interface for both high-throughput and conventional satellites. The Jupiter System supports applications such as broadband Internet and Intranet access, community Wi-Fi hotspots, cellular backhaul, digital signage and mobility, including airborne services.
Through its Jupiter Aero System, an integrated system of airborne and ground equipment and software, Hughes provides broadband access to aircraft. As of 2018, about 1,000 aircraft carry Hughes technology on board.
In March 2018, Hughes announced improvements to the Jupiter system, doubling the throughput of HT2xxx terminals to more than 200 Mbit/s and increasing capacity.
Hughes HX and HT satellite broadband platforms are used for broadband IP services, high speed internet, VoIP, and video by telecom providers around the world and the military.
Hughes has deployed more than 9 million VSAT terminals of all types in more than 100 countries, representing more than 50 percent market share.
Hughes satellite backhaul of cellular service extends 4G/LTE service to remote and rural areas around the world, specifically where conventional backhaul is difficult or costly due to geography and terrain.
Hughes cellular backhaul applications include a 4G/LTE optimization capability that yields up to 60 percent bandwidth savings.
Hughes Network Systems operates a satellite-based high-speed broadband internet service under the brand HughesNet. As of 2018, Hughes controls 69% of the market for residential satellite-based internet connections, which are mostly used by rural customers out-of-reach of wired infrastructure. Hughes also markets its services to government, business, and military.
HughesNet was originally launched in 1996 as a satellite Internet service for consumers and small businesses under the name DirecPC (using the same branding format as the satellite broadcast service DirecTV, which was under common ownership at the time) and was renamed Direcway in May 2002. On March 27, 2006, two years after DirecTV split off from Hughes in 2005, it was renamed HughesNet. In 2012, Hughes introduced its first offering of broadband satellite Internet. In March 2017, Hughes became the first satellite-based internet service provider to meet the Federal Communications Commission's definition of "broadband" with HughesNet Gen5, following the launch of the EchoStar XVII and XIX high-throughput satellites.
In 2016, Hughes expanded HughesNet into Brazil, marking its first international expansion of the service. It expanded into Colombia in September 2017, into Peru in October 2018, into Ecuador in December 2018, and into Mexico and Chile in 2019.
The FCC Measuring Broadband America report ranked HughesNet number one among all internet service providers for meeting or exceeding advertised download speeds for four years in a row from 2014 through 2017. For three out of four years (2014, 2015 and 2017), HughesNet ranked number one for meeting or exceeding both download and upload advertised speeds. HughesNet was named the Best Rural Internet Provider of 2022 and Best Satellite Internet Provider of 2022 by U.S. News & World Report 360 Reviews.
The long distance to the geosynchronous orbit used by HughesNet increases latency to over 600 ms, over 10 times more than terrestrial or low Earth orbit systems like Starlink, rendering it much less competitive for applications like videoconferencing and video gaming.
Hughes offers managed network services for distributed enterprise businesses and government organizations. Its HughesON managed services include SD-WAN, Wi-Fi and location analytics and cloud-based digital signage and employee training.