Spacenet Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks
Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT) and a leading provider of broadband network
solutions, announced that it has been awarded federal grant funding from
the Rural Utility Service (RUS) under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act. The grant will allow it to provide broadband service
to rural unserved markets in Alaska and Hawaii through its “StarBand
Open Skies” initiative. Spacenet will offer its StarBand
broadband-over-satellite service to these regions for $0 down, including
equipment and standard installation, and an entry-level monthly service
fee of $50.
“This grant award is great news for customers in Alaska and Hawaii that
need access to affordable broadband Internet services,” said Spacenet
CEO Andreas Georghiou. “We’re pleased to be able to help provide access
through this special grant funding with our StarBand satellite Internet
options. Since its inception in 2000, the StarBand product line has
focused on providing high-speed Internet service to the most rural areas
without access to alternative options. The RUS recognized the difficulty
and unique challenges in deploying service in these regions and took
appropriate measures to address them. First they increased the subsidy,
and second they selected the StarBand team to implement it. I can speak
for the entire organization when I say we are immensely proud to be part
of this endeavor.”
StarBand is basing its StarBand Open Skies service offerings for Alaska
and Hawaii on custom versions of its Nova 1000 and 1500 products. Both
packages exceed the performance requirements set forth by the RUS for
this program. The Nova 1000 service provides download speeds of up to 1
Mbps and upload speeds of 200 Kbps, and the Nova 1500 service provides
download speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps and upload speeds of 256 Kbps. Both
services also offer value added features including: 10 free hours of
dial access per month for backup or traveling; virus protection; spam
filtering; access to the StarBand Member Portal powered by Google; 24X7
online support; and up to 15 email accounts.
For more information visit www.starband.com/alaska,
www.starband.com/hawaii
or call 800-296-5818.
About Spacenet®
Founded in 1981, Spacenet Inc designs, develops, and manages wireline
and wireless broadband network solutions for US based business,
industrial and government customers, as well as residential users
through its StarBand product line. Spacenet has a longstanding tradition
of industry leadership and innovation, and today has more than 100,000
operational network endpoints for customers including many Fortune 500
companies and major government agencies. Spacenet offers a complete
product and services portfolio for applications ranging from primary
communications for corporate applications and secure data transfer, to
hot stand-by solutions for continuity of operations and network backup,
or field deployable solutions for disaster recovery and emergency
management. Spacenet Integrated Government Solutions, a division of
Spacenet Inc., develops networks and communications solutions for
agencies such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the
Intelligence community and other government agencies requiring highly
secure, flexible solutions. Spacenet is based in McLean, Virginia, and
operates its own end-to-end services infrastructure including network
management, field services and teleport facilities in McLean, VA;
Atlanta, Georgia; and Chicago, Illinois. Spacenet is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT). Visit
Spacenet at http://www.spacenet.com/
Spacenet Inc.
Jon Douglas, (703) 848-1221
jon.douglas@spacenet.com