[SatNews] Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) has installed a satellite uplink to enable distance learning at the Havasupai Elementary School, located in the heart of the Grand Canyon. This installation is the 150th site installed under the National Indian Programs Training Center’s (NIPTC) Enhanced Learning and Knowledge Network (ELKNet), delivering distance learning to schools, federal agencies, and juvenile detention centers located in remote areas of Indian Country.

Hughes provides managed network services for ELKNet enabling real-time distance education via satellite to schools, federal agencies, and juvenile detention centers. Courses and workshops are developed by NIPTC instructors and shared through Interactive Television (ITV) with one-way video and two-way audio services. Hughes ultimately will manage distance education for Tribal Nations at 205 sites across 25 states. NIPTC is a member of the Government Education and Training Network (GETN), a group of federal agencies that share satellite services, facilities, and programs for distance learning. Hughes was awarded the task order to provide managed network services for GETN under the U.S. General Services Administration’s SATCOM-II contract in April 2008. Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, NIPTC is a national training center for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians.