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.

History

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 DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

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. On June 6, 2025, it was reported that EchoStar Corporation was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) suspended EchoStar's ability to plan out strategic decisions for its Boost Mobile subsidiary. In addition, other factors contributing to this decision included missing over $500 million in interest payments and the termination of the Dish Network acquisition by DirecTV.

Technology and services

Satellite systems

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.

Satellite services

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.

HughesNet

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

, 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 An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

to meet the

'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 Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, marking its first international expansion of the service. It expanded into

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in September 2017, into

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in October 2018, into

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

in December 2018, and into

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

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.

Managed network services

Hughes offers managed network services for distributed enterprise businesses and government organizations. Its HughesON managed services include SD-WAN,

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

and location analytics and cloud-based digital signage and employee training.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control 2011 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1971 American corporate subsidiaries Communications satellite operators Companies based in Germantown, Maryland EchoStar Satellite Internet access Telecommunications companies established in 1971 Telecommunications companies of the United States Former General Motors subsidiaries Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq