Asoka opens Hong Kong office, announces 1st enterprise customer

To Expand Global Reach Asoka Opens Hong Kong Office and Deploys PlugLAN Powerline MDU Solution at local Hong Kong Primary School

Foster City, California, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Asoka USA, a leading HomePlug(R) powerline network solutions provider, announced today the opening of its Asoka office in Hong Kong, China.

The office, to be managed by the company's founder and CTO, TK Chan, will be the central location for Asia Pacific (APAC) sales and marketing. In addition, Asoka announced P&P Solutions Ltd, a Hong Kong-based system integrator, has chosen and deployed Asoka's PlugLAN Powerline MDU Solution at a local Hong Kong Primary School.

"Our new Hong Kong sales office is a key part of our global expansion plan, and will enable us to provide focused and complete support for our valued Asia Pacific customers and distributors, including PCCW, the leading IPTV provider, Synergy Technologies (Asia) Ltd, a regional distributor and P&P Solutions Ltd, a local system integrator," said Chan.

"The PlugLAN powerline network solution provided our team and our customer a cost effective network that was simple, secure and reliable," stated Francis Li, a consultant at P&P. "We look forward to a long-term relationship with Asoka and to be able to obtain local sales and technical support."

Asoka offers the market's most robust and complete powerline networking solution, utilizing a building's pre-established electrical wiring to deliver Internet connectivity throughout a home or building. Encompassing both residential and commercial verticals through system integrators and service providers, Asoka's product line of Ethernet and wireless adapters, routers, power centers and customer premises equipment (CPE) offer a complete network solution for consumers and small
businesses.

About Asoka USA

Asoka is a leading developer of simple, secure, and reliable powerline networking products that use existing electrical wiring to deliver high-speed networking throughout a home or business. Asoka's innovative products are sold globally through Carriers and Systems Integrators for both residential and commercial environments. The company offers the broadest and most complete portfolio of powerline products available today, and boasts powerline technology leadership and knowledge unparalleled in the industry. To learn more, visit http://www.asokausa.com.

PlugLAN, Asoka and the Asoka logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Asoka USA Corporation.

HomePlug is a registered trademark of HomePlug Powerline Alliance.

CONTACT: Cat Griffin of Zeno Group,
+1-415-369-8125,
cat.griffin@zenogroup.com, for Asoka
Web site: http://www.asokausa.com
SOURCE: Asoka USA

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Hughes announces agreement to acquire Helius, Inc.

Helius to Enhance Hughes' Business IPTV and Managed Network Service Offerings

Germantown, Maryland, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Hughes Communications, Inc. (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and a leading broadband managed network services provider, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Helius, Inc., a portfolio company of Canopy Ventures.

The acquisition is expected to be completed on or about February 4, 2008. Upon completion of the acquisition, Helius will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes and will operate closely with Hughes' North America and International enterprise businesses.

The acquisition will combine the skills of Helius, a recognized leader in providing business IPTV solutions for applications such as training, corporate communications, and digital signage, with the extensive broadband networking experience and customer base of Hughes. Hughes plans to deploy Helius' innovative IP video technologies to enhance its existing HughesNet(R) service offerings.

Hughes has a large and growing customer base of government, retail, hospitality, and petroleum customers with an interest in business IPTV applications. Recent developments in broadband and video compression technologies allow internal and customer-facing digital media applications to be delivered for a fraction of the cost of previous systems. When combined with Hughes' networking services, the Helius product suite provides a cost-effective and compelling enterprise networking and communications solution.

"As a premier managed network services provider to enterprise and SMB customers, Hughes saw a natural fit in teaming with Helius to better address the market for digital media solutions," said Pradman Kaul, president and CEO of Hughes.

"We believe this acquisition will uniquely position Hughes as a cost-effective, end-to-end service provider offering content management, hardware, installation, maintenance, network operations, and services."

"Businesses around the globe are looking for better ways to communicate with their customers and employees," said Mike Tippets, president and CEO of Helius. "Together with Hughes we are able to provide those organizations, and the integrators who service them, with end-to-end solutions that are easy to buy and easy to use."

About Helius

Founded in 1995, Helius is a worldwide leader in business-class data broadcasting solutions and has been focused on the data broadcasting and IP-over-satellite markets for nearly a decade. Helius offers a comprehensive portfolio of digital signage, training, distance learning, and content distribution network solutions. Helius is a privately held firm with funding from The Canopy Group.

About Hughes Communications, Inc.

Hughes Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUGH) is the 100 per cent owner of Hughes Network Systems, LLC. Hughes is the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers.

HughesNet encompasses all broadband solutions and managed services from Hughes, bridging the best of satellite and terrestrial technologies. Its broadband satellite products are based on the IPoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA, ETSI, and ITU standards organizations. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 1.2 million systems to customers in over 100 countries.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.hughes.com Hughes and HughesNet are registered trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

SOURCE: Hughes Communications, Inc.
CONTACT:
Judy Blake of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, +1-301-601-7330, jblake@hns.com; or
Wunmi Bamiduro of Brodeur for Hughes Network Systems, LLC, +1-202-775-2656,
wbamiduro@brodeur.com
Web site: http://www.hughes.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS