Long Beach, Calif., December 23, 1997

HUGHES COMMUNICATIONS EXPANDS SPACEWAY™ SYSTEM
Two New FCC Filings Outline Vision for Added Services

Hughes Communications, Inc. (HCI) is enhancing its SPACEWAY™ global broadband communications system to increase overall system capacity and add higher data rate transport services, the firm announced today. HCI articulated its vision in two new applications filed today with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The SPACEWAY EXP™ filing outlines an eight-satellite system operating at geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), providing high data rate transport services. The SPACEWAY NGSO™ filing describes a 20-satellite system operating in nongeostationary Earth orbit (NGSO). These additions will increase overall SPACEWAY capacity, especially in high-demand areas. Both systems will operate in the Ka-band frequency range (17.7 GHz to 30.0 GHz).

"With these new applications, we're integrating some of our latest thinking with the market-driven service strategy SPACEWAY has had for more than three years," noted Frank Taormina, president of Hughes Communications, Inc. "What we've done is expand the capabilities of our SPACEWAY system to give customers an even broader range of services and even more flexibility."

Noting the significant growth in proposed Ka-band businesses, Taormina added, "Our goal with all of our businesses is to make the most efficient use of the available spectrum to provide customers with choice. That's why we've carefully constructed our technical architectures to successfully operate with other existing and proposed systems."

Ed Fitzpatrick, HCI vice president for SPACEWAY, outlined the company's implementation strategy, noting, "We hope to move out as planned with the original SPACEWAY architecture as licensed by the FCC in May 1997. Once we have licenses for the two new filings, we expect to use them to expand our service offerings as the market demands." Customers will ultimately be able to receive integrated service through modular equipment.

As proposed, the global SPACEWAY system will be able to provide ubiquitous coverage in four main regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Its "bandwidth-on-demand" capability will be able to provide businesses and consumers with fast access to terrestrial networks, such as the Internet, Intranets, and local area networks (LANs). Operating two-way via satellite, the system will use a family of receivers as small as 26 inches (66 cm) in diameter and provide uplink speeds up to 6 Mbps. Service is anticipated to begin in the first region as early as 2001.

SPACEWAY EXP will focus on the high data rate transport market using geostationary satellites operating from four orbital locations. Hughes Communications has requested authorization at 117°, 69° and 26.2° West longitude, and 99° East longitude.

SPACEWAY NGSO will add to overall SPACEWAY system capacity, providing advanced interactive broadband multimedia communications services in high traffic markets globally. It will provide a wide range of broadband data rates operating through a family of small terminals. The SPACEWAY NGSO constellation will consist of four planes with five satellites in each plane, inclined at 55 degrees with respect to the equator and in circular orbits at an altitude of 10,352 km.

SPACEWAY satellites will incorporate multiple-beam antennas, digital processors for switching traffic among beams, and intersatellite links (ISLs) to interconnect among satellites. A signal received by one satellite can be relayed directly back to the same beam, switched to another beam, or relayed by intersatellite links to other satellites.

Thus the SPACEWAY system will be able to form a high-capacity global network for high rate data transport and broadband access.

Hughes Communications, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation, is the United States' leading developer of satellite-based telecommunications businesses. By integrating advanced technology, spectrum management and market trends, HCI created the highly successful Galaxy® satellite fleet (now part of PanAmSat Corporation) and was the genesis for the DIRECTV® and Galaxy Latin America™ direct-to-home satellite entertainment businesses. HCI is now leading the development of SPACEWAY™, the global Ka-band broadband communications system that will bring businesses and consumers a variety of interactive high-speed telecommunications services as early as 2001. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock. Visit HCI on the world wide web at www.hcisat.com

SPACEWAY is an official trademark of Hughes Communications, Inc. DIRECTV is a registered trademark of DIRECTV, Inc. Galaxy Latin America is an official trademark of Galaxy Latin America. Galaxy is a registered trademark of PanAmSat Corporation.

For more information, contact:
Hughes Communications, Inc.
Wendy Greene
(310) 525-5212
wagreene@mail.hac.com