Optus Selects Hughes to Enable Satellite Services Across Australia

Leading Australian Mobile Carrier to Use Hughes System as Their Satellite Platform of the Future to Power Next Generation Services

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global enabler in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced that Optus Satellite has selected the Hughes JUPITER™ System as its satellite platform to offer next generation services to its customers.

The companies signed a multi-year master services agreement, under which Optus Satellite will purchase JUPITER System equipment to: extend 3G and 4G services; lay the foundation for 5G; power enterprise services such as satellite news gathering; and deliver mobility services for maritime vessels – all throughout Australia and New Zealand.

“We selected the JUPITER System as our ‘platform of the future,’ because it gives us the reach and scale that we need to bring advanced services to customers everywhere, cost-effectively and with optimal network performance,” said Nick Leake, head of satellite networks, Optus. “To serve as many Australians as possible, satellite forms an essential link in our network – whether for consumer or business applications – and the JUPITER System will help us deliver the reach and scale we need to support our customers.”

“Whether across Australia or across the Americas, the network must reach everywhere for people and businesses to reap the social and economic benefits of being connected – and satellite is the ideal way to extend those networks,” said Ramesh Ramaswamy, senior vice president and general manager, International Division, Hughes. “With the JUPITER System, Optus can offer services in areas that are impossible – or prohibitively expensive – to reach using traditional terrestrial means, such as fiber, cable or microwave.”

Hughes JUPITER™ System, the market-leading satellite networking solution, backhauls all generations of cellular technologies. A high-performance platform, the JUPITER System delivers 300 Mbps throughput per terminal with acceleration supporting 16,000 simultaneous TCP sessions.

Employing the DVB-S2X standard for highly efficient use of satellite bandwidth, the platform saves up to 60% of satellite bandwidth with integrated 4G/LTE optimization. The JUPITER System supports applications such as broadband Internet access, community Wi-Fi hotspots, and in-flight connectivity services, in addition to cellular backhaul.