7-18-06 TIA/Hughes Tell Congress Satellite Broadband Connection Critical to Effective Teleworking and Emergency-Based COOP Preparedness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TIA/Hughes Tell Congress Satellite Broadband Connection Critical to Effective Teleworking and Emergency-Based COOP Preparedness

Satellite Broadband Often Sole Option for Teleworkers Even in the Washington Metropolitan Area

Germantown, Maryland, July 18, 2006—In testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization of the Committee on Government Reform, Joslyn Read, assistant vice president, regulatory affairs, for Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), urged the federal government to provide economic support to encourage the adoption of broadband communications essential for teleworking and Continuity of Operations (COOP) contingencies. Read testified on behalf of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Hughes.

Read also stressed the importance of ensuring that employees within the Washington Metropolitan area and beyond have access to a high-speed broadband connection in order to enjoy all the benefits of teleworking. Read noted that because of the high cost of building land-based infrastructure in rural locations, satellite broadband technology is often the best and only option for gaining that access.

According to Ms. Read, “The federal government clearly and urgently needs to accelerate the realization of COOP by allowing workers to operate from diverse locations. Satellite broadband services constitute a critical and often sole option for many workers in the Washington Metropolitan area to participate in emergency-based COOP preparedness as well as teleworking during non-emergency times.”

Ms. Read offered Congress the following recommendations to help accelerate the realization of COOP and teleworking:

As the only truly diverse communications medium in the event of an emergency, satellite communications should be a requirement in any formal teleworking or COOP plan implemented by the government.
In recognizing that teleworking brings enormous efficiencies and resiliency to federal missions, Congress and the individual agencies of the Federal Government need to define and fund its teleworking programs to include:

Compensation to teleworkers for their monthly high-speed broadband services;
Compensation to teleworkers for the broadband customer premises equipment needed to perform their online duties, particularly for those teleworkers that are involved in essential agency functions, and for those that reside in locations that are rural, remote, and are less able to travel into a centralized workplace; and
Tax credits for non-federal employers and employees who engage in teleworking programs.

To view Ms. Read’s full testimony, please visit www.hns.com and click on “News.”

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association is the leading trade association for the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. As owner and producer of GLOBALCOMM™, TIA serves ICT suppliers to global markets through its leadership in standards development, domestic and international policy advocacy, and facilitating member business opportunities. TIA represents the communications sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). Visit us at http://www.tiaonline.org. GLOBALCOMM™ is a trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The Next-Generation Communications Marketplace and Summit will take place June 18-21, 2007, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Visit www.globalcomm2007.com.

About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers. HughesNet encompasses all broadband solutions and managed services from Hughes, bridging the best of satellite and terrestrial technologies. To date, Hughes has shipped more than one million systems to customers in over 100 countries. Its broadband satellite products are based on the IPoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA, ETSI, and ITU standards organization.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc. (OTCBB:HGCM). For additional information, please visit www.hughes.com.

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