YAHSAT Selects Hughes Ka-Band Satellite Networking Solution and Operational Support System

$27+ Million, Multi-Year Contract for Hughes HN Solution to Enable YahClick Broadband Services in Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia on Yahsat Y1B Satellite

GERMANTOWN, Maryland, March 15, 2011 - Hughes Networks Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband
satellite networks and services today announced that it has been awarded an
initial contract valued at over US $27 million from Star Satellite
Communications Company PJSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yah Satellite
Communications Company PrJSC (Yahsat) based in the United Arab Emirates to
provide its high performance, Ka-band HN broadband satellite system including
gateway equipment and HN9200 and HN9400 terminals, with provisions for future
expansion. The contract also calls for Hughes to deliver a complete OSS/BSS
solution (Operational Support System and Back Office Support System) for the
YahClick service.

(Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110112/NE29456LOGO )

"This highly valued and strategically important contract further
solidifies our leadership in Ka-band satellite technology and services
globally," said Pradman Kaul, chairman and CEO of Hughes. "We eagerly look
forward to implementing our comprehensive solution for Yahsat to help ensure
its success, including our field-proven customer support systems and
know-how."

YahClick is a next-generation, Ka-band service that will leverage the
high-throughput capability of Yahsat Y1B satellite and the Hughes HN System
solution to provide broadband Internet access and other applications to large
and small enterprises, governments and consumers in the Middle East, Africa,
and Southwest Asia. The service is expected to be launched in 2012.

"Partnering with Hughes will help Yahsat in fast tracking the rapid
rollout of YahClick service in 27 countries during 2012," said Jassem Mohamed
Al Zaabi, CEO of Yahsat. "YahClick will bring the Internet to millions of
underserved and unserved people and organizations at costs comparable to
terrestrial services."

Bahram Pourmand, executive vice president, International at Hughes said,
"We are proud that Yahsat has put its trust in Hughes to help fulfill the
requirements of this much sought-after contract."

Spearheading the industry's move to high-capacity Ka-band satellite
systems, the Hughes HN9000 series of routers are designed to deliver the
maximum performance on today's Ku- or Ka-band platforms, while being
future-proof for next-generation, high-throughput systems. The HN9000 series
platform is fully compliant with the highly successful IPoS/DVB-S2/ACM
(Adaptive Coding and Modulation) industry standard, approved by ETSI, TIA and
ITU. Incorporating advanced adaptive LDPC coding on the return channel, the
router provides improved link performance, thereby enabling very efficient
use of satellite capacity.

About Al Yah Satellite Communications Company - Yahsat
(www.yahsat.ae)

Yahsat, the United Arab Emirates-based satellite communications company
and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala),
provides multi-purpose satellite communications services to commercial and
governmental clients in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South-West Asia.
With a wide portfolio of voice, data, video and internet connectivity
solutions, Yahsat satellites are designed based on market requirements and
future applications. Yahsat is partnering with a consortium composed of EADS
Astrium, Thales and Alenia Space to build a multi-purpose satellite
communications system. The first satellite Y1A is currently being built and
will be launched in the first quarter of 2011, and Y1B will follow in the
second half of 2011.

Star Satellite Communications Company PrJSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), is the commercial arm of
the satellite business. Star leases Ka band (YahClick) and C band (YahLink)
capacity to customers and enters services agreements with clients on behalf
of Yahsat.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the world's leading provider of
satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network
technologies, managed services and solutions for enterprises and governments
globally. HughesNet(R) is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the
marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped
more than 2.5 million systems to customers in over 100 countries,
representing over 50% market share. Its products employ global standards
approved by TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A,
and GMR-1.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA,
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) operates sales and support offices
worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc.
(Nasdaq: HUGH). For more information, please visit www.hughes.com.

(c)2011 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. Hughes and HughesNet are registered
trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

Judy Blake, Hughes Network Systems, LLC, +1-301-601-7330, Judy.blake at hughes.com; or Dan Tudesco, Brodeur Partners, +1-202-775-2657, dtudesco at brodeur.com