HUGHES, an EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) company, announced that Stargroup, a Mexican telecommunications and entertainment company, has selected the Hughes JUPITER™ System and managed satellite broadband to extend LTE service to customers in rural communities. As part of the Mexican government’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos initiative to help bridge the digital divide, Stargroup is connecting hundreds of remote cell towers using Hughes JUPITER System terminals and Hughes JUPITER 2 high-throughput satellite capacity.

“The government has made it a priority to extend internet access to every municipal capital in Mexico, and we are proud to help achieve that objective together with Hughes,” said Monica Aguirre, chief executive officer, Stargroup. “In areas of the country outside the reach of fiber, the only way to access the internet is by satellite, and Hughes JUPITER technology sets the standard when it comes to LTE backhaul by satellite.”

“Stargroup’s choice of a managed service that combines our high-throughput JUPITER satellite and high-performing ground system will bring more Mexicans the connectivity they need for work, school, community and more,” said Ramesh Ramaswamy, executive vice president, international, EchoStar. “We’re proud to continue supporting Stargroup in their important work connecting the unconnected as part of the Internet para Todos program.”

Powering connections from each cell tower to the network core, the Hughes JUPITER 2 satellite provides the bridge connecting rural mobile phone users to the internet with reliable, high-speed Ka-band capacity and enterprise-grade service level agreements to meet the criteria for service delivery set by CFE Telecom. At each location in the deployment, a Hughes remote terminal (model number HT2524), designed and optimized for LTE backhaul (including support for GTP acceleration), powers services at 20-60 Mbps down, ensuring fast and reliable internet connections for individual users. This deployment follows that of several service providers, including Stargroup, that are employing Hughes JUPITER System technology to connect more than 7,200 Community Wi-Fi and internet access sites across Mexico.

The Hughes JUPITER System is the leading satellite ground platform, enabling services on geostationary satellites around the world. A multi-service platform, the system powers direct-to-home satellite internet services, Community Wi-Fi hotspots, enterprise networks and cellular backhaul, with available software-defined networking and cloud-delivered management.