Arrival of largest commercial satellite heralds the start of a new era in connectivity

Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company,  announced its JUPITER™ 3 ultra high-density satellite has arrived in Cape Canaveral, FL, for its upcoming launch. JUPITER 3, also known as EchoStar XXIV, was built by Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, CA, and is engineered to deliver gigabytes of connectivity to customers across North and South America. Last night, the satellite was carefully loaded onto an Antonov aircraft, flown across the country, and delivered to the U.S. Space Coast, where it will undergo launch preparations before a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carries it to orbit.

“As the leading provider of satellite internet to rural customers across the Americas, we are proud to begin a new era of connectivity with the launch of JUPITER 3,” said Hamid Akhavan, CEO, EchoStar. “Doubling the capacity of our satellite fleet with an additional 500 Gbps, JUPITER 3 will enable us to serve more customers, especially where cable and fiber can’t, so they can do everything they want—including work at home, study online, play games, engage in their communities, and stay in touch with family and friends.”

When fully deployed, JUPITER 3, the largest commercial communications satellite ever built, approaches the wingspan of a commercial airliner. With JUPITER 3, Hughes will enhance its HughesNet® offerings for customers in the U.S. and Latin America with more broadband capacity and higher speed plans—some with speeds up to 100 Mbps. The company will also offer higher speed HughesNet Fusion® plans, the innovative low-latency home internet that leverages multipath technology to seamlessly blend satellite and wireless technologies for a faster and more responsive service than traditional satellite internet.

“Since inventing satellite internet and bringing broadband connectivity to remote and rural customers, Hughes has continued to advance our service offerings with more capacity, higher speeds and a better online experience,” added Akhavan. “JUPITER 3 represents the next leap in our offerings, bringing HughesNet customers what they have been asking for: more data and higher speeds.”

With dense, high-throughput capacity across the Americas, JUPITER 3 will also support applications such as in-flight Wi-Fi, enterprise networking and cellular backhaul for mobile network operators (MNOs).