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biz.yahoo.com
Thursday December 21, 4:24 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Hughes Network Systems Ships 2-Way DirecPC Systems
New Fourth-Generation Platform Adds Satellite Transmit Capability to DirecPC Product Line
GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2000--Hughes Network Systems, the leading provider of satellite-based broadband services, today announced the first shipments of its new, fourth-generation DirecPC® satellite system featuring two-way high speed Internet access.
HNS has begun shipment to DirecPC's ``Powered by'' partners as such Pegasus, EarthLink and Juno. When shipments grow to high-volume levels in first Quarter 2001, current DirecPC subscribers will be offered a special program for those wishing to upgrade to the new 4.0 system.
The fourth-generation platform signals the beginning of the rollout of DirecPC's two-way satellite Internet services, announced earlier this year by HUGHES. The system features a standard USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection to an existing PC, plus additional O/S support for Windows 2000 and Windows ME.
The new two-way DirecPC system offers the same high-speed delivery of Internet content and file downloads to consumers and businesses, long the hallmarks of the DirecPC service, as well as a new satellite-based uplink from the user to the Internet. This satellite uplink bypasses the need for a dial-up connection, providing affordable ``always on'' high-speed transmissions from the user out to the Internet. The new system offers return channel speeds up to 128 Kbps, optionally 256 Kpbs, and delivers data at the same speeds as the current product, at rates of up to 400 Kbps. Pricing will be competitive to other available broadband services.
The two-way satellite transmit capability is a further enhancement to HUGHES' ``Broadband Everywhere(TM)'' competitive strategy, which was further strengthened today with the announcement that HUGHES will acquire Telocity, Inc., a leading national provider of broadband services via digital subscriber lines (DSL). The Telocity acquisition complements HUGHES' satellite-delivered broadband services, and makes HUGHES the country's first provider to offer on a national basis a portfolio of consumer entertainment and information services that includes digital multi-channel television along with wired and satellite broadband internet access. The new service will also be offered in a bundled package of broadband services to DIRECTV's installed base of more than 9 million subscribers.
In keeping with the schedules HUGHES set earlier in the year, the new two-way terminals are shipping in the fourth calendar quarter of 2000 and will be part of a special new release of the DirecPC client, DirecPC 4.0. DirecPC 4.0 is intended solely for two-way service and has all the unique features and enhancements of the recently released DirecPC 3.0. The two-way DirecPC terminal is expected to be deployed in mass quantities to consumer and business markets during Q1 of 2001.
``This new fourth-generation platform is a major step in the evolution of the DirecPC product line,'' said Paul Gaske, executive vice president and general manager of Hughes Network Systems' Consumer Division. ``We've combined the technology developed over the past 15 years in deploying commercial two-way satellite systems with the product and manufacturing expertise gained over the past four years in the consumer broadband and set-top markets. This system enables users anywhere in the continental U.S. to upgrade to two-way broadband service - even those who don't have access to a phone line. It takes our concept of `Broadband Everywhere' to a new level.''
``As the company that created consumer broadband satellite products services over four years ago, we've learned that simplicity is the key to success in the retail marketplace,'' said Sam Baumel, senior director of marketing for Hughes Network Systems' Consumer Division. ``The key benefit of our new fourth-generation DirecPC system is its ability to connect to existing computers as easily as a printer, using a simple, external connection. That, combined with our pioneering technology and proven performance, will make this a winner with consumers.''
About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems (HNS) is the leading provider of satellite-based broadband services and applications worldwide. The company's high-speed data services and convergence products include the award-winning DirecPC consumer Internet satellite service, the first-of-its-kind DirecDuo antenna - capable of receiving both DirecPC and DIRECTV service, and the high-performance DirecWay(TM) platform for multimedia-rich enterprise applications. HNS is also a major manufacturer of receivers and systems for the DIRECTV satellite television service.
HNS is winner of the 2000 Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering Technology Leadership Award for its pioneering efforts in creating the DirecPC product line. HNS is a unit of HUGHES Electronics, a subsidiary of General Motors corporation. HUGHES Electronics' earnings are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE:GMH - news). To learn more about HNS, please visit www.hns.com.
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Contact:
Hughes Network Systems
Sylvette Barr, 301/212-7926
sbarr@hns.com
or
Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations
Brooke Doherty, 202/466-6869
bdoherty@alexanderogilvy.com |
