Barrett Xplore and Hughes Sign Agreement

Barrett Xplore Inc., Canada's rural broadband provider, and Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), a major player in broadband satellite networks and services, reportedly have entered into an agreement as per which the Canadian company has committed to acquire and operate over 10 Gbps of capacity on Jupiter, a next-generation, high-throughput satellite from Hughes (News - Alert).

Jupiter is designed with more than 100 Gbps of capacity, representing a tenfold increase over existing satellites, and is scheduled for launch in 2012. The agreement is valued in excess of U.S. $100 million.

"Jupiter will enable Barrett Xplore to provide significantly enhanced service offerings to our current customers, and offer additional capacity to serve hundreds of thousands of rural Canadian households," said John Maduri, CEO at Barrett Xplore, in a release.

Maduri said this considerable investment in satellite capacity demonstrates Barrett's ongoing commitment to rural broadband and strengthens the company’s ability to reach all rural Canadian households with cost-effective, high-speed Internet.

Thanks to the pact, Barrett Xplore will now be able to provide customers with unparalleled speeds and bandwidth, offering a range of packages of up to 10 Mbps for residential service and up to 25 Mbps for business, with performance and pricing comparable to that in terrestrial broadband markets.

"We are delighted to continue our successful business relationship with Barrett Xplore in a collaboration that will bring the very latest satellite broadband technology and services to the Canadian market," said Mike Cook, senior vice president, Hughes.

Cook said that by using Jupiter, Barrett Xplore will be able to deliver the same kind of exciting, high-speed satellite services to Canadians that Hughes intends to bring to subscribers across the U.S., including those living in areas unserved or underserved by terrestrial broadband.

Recently Hughes had announced a multi-year agreement whereby its subsidiary, Hughes Network Systems (News - Alert), Ltd. will provide Avanti Communications Group plc and its partner channels, eight gateways and 50,000 customer premise terminals to operate over HYLAS, Europe's first dedicated, high-throughput Ka-band broadband satellite to be launched in 2010.

The initial value of the contract is in excess of U.S. $24 million over the multi-year framework agreement.

In addition, Hughes has agreed to acquire capacity on the HYLAS satellite to expand the managed services it provides to major corporations in a variety of market sectors, including oil and gas, lottery, and retail.