Habitat for Humanity taps Hughes for satellite broadband during Queens, NY reconstruction

Hughes Network Systems is providing satellite broadband services to Habitat for Humanity of Westchester, NY as the latter rebuilds homes in Breezy Point in Queens, NY that had been devastated by Superstorm Sandy.

Habitat for Humanity is coordinating the reconstruction of the homes of Breezy Point residents from a nearby command center equipped with satellite communications technology. The command center can access broadband Internet by satellite and voice services through Hughes' new Internet Access Solutions.

The Hughes broadband Internet by satellite solution leverages the EchoStar 17 satellite. The next generation Ka-band satellite deploys JUPITER high-throughput technology that can deliver satellite internet speeds of up to 15 Mbps.

The Disaster Preparedness Registry of the Global VSAT Forum helped Habitat for Humanity to identify the satellite resources that will be needed by their command center. In addition, a Cisco on-site TacOps team provided customers with services such as a connection switch for their computers, access to wireless Wi-Fi, and a call manager for their phones.