Satnews Daily
February 19th, 2020

ERT and Hughes to Expand and Upgrade National Weather Service


ERT, Inc. and Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) have been selected by the National Weather Service (NWS) to upgrade and expand managed satellite and wireless services at NWS locations in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Pacific Region.

ERT and subcontractor Hughes will provide the NWS with the network services needed to gather and report local weather tracking and forecasting data using capacity on the Hughes JUPITER™ 1 (EchoStar XVII) and JUPITER 2 (EchoStar XIX) High-Throughput Satellites (HTS).

At mission-critical locations, Hughes will provide 4G LTE wireless backup that ensures a dual-path network architecture for increased availability. Also as part of the managed service, the team will install Hughes HR4860 Secure SD-WAN Gateways at the locations and provide a live dashboard with 24x7 access to network performance data and analytics.

Tony Bardo, Assistant VP of Government Solutions at Hughes, said this expansion of the company's longstanding partnership with ERT, Inc., in support of the National Weather Service, is a testament to the essential power of connectivity to impact lives every day. The work of the NWS ensures the preparedness of people nationwide and Hughes Network Systems is proud to deliver the network they need to carry out their mission with speed, flexibility and reliability.