ABU DHABI, United Arab
Emirates, Dec. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Al Yah
Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), a leading global
satellite operator based in the United
Arab Emirates and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment
Company (Mubadala), and Hughes Network Systems (HUGHES),
a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (EchoStar) (NASDAQ:
SATS), a premier global provider of satellite communication
solutions, today announced the commencement of a joint venture to
provide commercial satellite services across Africa, the Middle
East and southwest Asia.
The agreement to form the joint venture was announced in
September 2018, during the World
Satellite Business Week Conference held in Paris, and was subject to regulatory and other
approvals that have now been obtained. The newly formed company is
bringing services to market as "YahClick, powered by Hughes," and
is now operational.
The joint venture was launched during a ceremony at Mubadala's
headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the
presence of Khaldoon Al Mubarak,
chief executive officer and managing director of Mubadala;
Charlie Ergen, chairman of EchoStar;
Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, chief
executive officer of Yahsat; and Ramesh
Ramaswamy, senior vice president and general manager,
International Division, Hughes.
Through the collaboration, Yahsat will combine its unique
position and knowledge as the leading provider of satellite
broadband solutions within its current markets with Hughes
expertise as the global leader in broadband satellite networks and
services. Providing unserved and underserved communities with
reliable, high-speed Internet services via Yahsat's Al Yah 2 and Al
Yah 3 Ka-band satellites, the new entity will utilize the
capabilities of the Hughes JUPITER™ System, designed and optimized
for large-scale High-Throughput Satellites (HTS), and
Hughes Operating and Business Support System (OSS/BSS)
solutions for comprehensive network operations and management.
The new company's board of directors consists of three members
from Yahsat and two from Hughes, with Mr. Mahmood serving as
chairman of the board and Pradman
Kaul, president of Hughes, serving as a board director.
"In this joint venture with Hughes, we're building upon the
digital landscape of our target regions to empower and enable
communities, governments and businesses in unserved and underserved
communities to realize economic and social benefit from Yahsat's
high-performance satellite broadband services," commented Mr.
Mahmood. "This is an important step in unlocking not only our
potential, but the potential of those we serve by combining our
respective leadership and global experience."
Mr. Kaul added, "The commencement of the joint venture furthers
Hughes commitment to bridging the global digital divide, bringing
unserved and underserved communities everywhere the benefits of the
connected experience. We are pleased to join with longtime partner,
Yahsat, in serving these important and growing markets."
The joint venture provides "direct-to-premise services" to homes
and small to medium-sized enterprises, and to community centers and
schools under local government programs across the targeted
regions. The company also offers "community hotspot" solutions to
make satellite-enabled broadband more accessible to many more users
across Yahsat's global footprint, which today covers more than one
billion people. Further, the joint venture enables the Mobile
Network Operator community to benefit from the efficiencies
provided by Ka-band-based cellular backhaul and carrier
solutions.
About Yahsat
Yahsat is a leading global satellite
operator, providing multipurpose satellite solutions for broadband,
broadcast and government communications use across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Central and southwest Asia. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and wholly owned by Mubadala
Investment Company, the investment vehicle of the Government of Abu
Dhabi Yahsat is the first company in the Middle East and Africa to offer Ka-band services including
YahClick, Yahsat Government Solutions, YahLink and Yahlive via its
Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2 satellites.
With the recent launch of Al Yah
3 satellite, Yahsat's commercial Ka-band coverage will be extended
to 20 additional markets, reaching 60% of Africa's population and over 95% of
Brazil's population.
Yahsat has recently acquired a majority and controlling stake in
Thuraya, UAE's first home-grown mobile satellite services operator.
The acquisition enables Yahsat to provide a broad range of Fixed
and Mobile Satellite Services to over 160 countries.
For more information, please visit: http://www.yahsat.com
About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network
Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in broadband satellite
technology and services for home and office. Its flagship
high-speed satellite Internet service is HughesNet®, the world's
largest satellite network with over 1.3 million residential and
business customers across North and South
America. For large enterprises and governments, the
company's HughesON® managed network services provide complete
connectivity solutions employing an optimized mix of satellite and
terrestrial technologies. The JUPITER™ System is the world's most
widely deployed High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) platform, operating
on more than 20 satellites by leading service providers, delivering
a wide range of broadband enterprise, mobility and cellular
backhaul applications. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 7
million terminals of all types to customers in over 100 countries,
representing approximately 50 percent market share, and its
technology is powering broadband services to aircraft around the
world.
Headquartered outside Washington,
D.C., in Germantown,
Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices
worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation
(NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations.
For additional information about Hughes, please visit
www.hughes.com and follow @HughesConnects on Twitter.
About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is
a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions.
Headquartered in Englewood, Colo.,
and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in
secure communications technologies through its Hughes Network
Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. For more
information, visit www.echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on
Twitter.
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SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC