Mike Cook, the vice president and general manager of Spaceway, the interactive satellite broadband unit of Hughes Network Systems (HNS), told a joint hearing of the House Small Business Committee's subcommittees on Regulatory Reform and Oversight and on Rural Enterprises, Agriculture and Technology that satellite broadband was the best way to close the digital divide.

The hearing, titled "Eliminating the Digital Divide -- Who Will Wire Rural America?," was chaired by Subcommittee Chairmen Mike Pence (R-IN) and John Thune (R-SD). Its purpose was to explore technologies used to deliver broadband services to rural areas, the current state of the broadband infrastructure in rural America and the barriers to further deployment of broadband services in rural communities.

"With satellite broadband, there is no digital divide. There will be no have's or have-not's," said Cook. "Small business will require broadband access not merely to be more competitive, but in order to survive."

Pointing out that "the only technology that will ubiquitously provide cost-effective broadband access across the entire U.S. is satellite technology," Cook said that legislators and regulators often overlook the potential of satellites to provide broadband service to small businesses, particularly in rural areas.

"We encourage the Committee to examine the crucial role of spectrum allocation and the most effective way it can be used to serve small businesses," he said. "Tax and other incentive legislation should be inclusive of all technologies and should be written in a way that acknowledges the key role that satellite technology will play in broadband infrastructure development."

Cook outlined the "extensive" technological and financial commitments that Hughes has already made to provide high-speed broadband access to small businesses through its current DirecPC( and DirecWay services.

"With the services we are deploying today and with the enhanced capabilities we will offer with Spaceway, small businesses, wherever they are, will have affordable access to the broadband universe, without discrimination or financial disadvantages," said Cook.

Spaceway is a high-speed, high-bandwidth communications satellite system scheduled for North American launch in 2002 and service in 2003. This next-generation broadband technology system will provide bandwidth-on-demand capability by employing geostationary satellites with on-board digital processors, packet switching and spot-beam technology. Spaceway satellites will transmit data over 1,000 times faster than data carried over conventional telephone lines.

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Hughes Network Systems (HNS) is a world leader in providing broadband satellite network solutions for businesses and governments worldwide and high-speed Internet access through its DirecPC(TM) and DirecWay(TM) service brands. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, near Washington, DC, the company has sales and support offices around the globe with systems operating in over 85 countries.

The Germantown, Md.-based HNS is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp., a provider of digital television entertainment, satellite services and satellite-based private business networks.