ORION NETWORK SYSTEMS TO EXPAND ITS SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES INTO ASIA PACIFIC REGION $89 MILLION AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH DACOM (KOREA); HUGHES TO PROVIDE NEW SATELLITE ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- Orion Network Systems (Nasdaq: ONSI) announced today a major expansion of its international satellite communications services into the Asia Pacific region. It announced an $89 million agreement with DACOM, a major Korean telecommunications common carrier, for satellite communications capacity to serve the Korean peninsula, and the selection of Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc. to construct and launch Orion's first Asia Pacific regional satellite. The new satellite, to be located over the Pacific Ocean, is the second in a series of three Orion satellites capable of providing global communications services to over 75% of the world's population, with emphasis on areas where communications infrastructure is relatively underdeveloped. Orion's first satellite, located over the Atlantic Ocean, has been operational since January 1995, and serves Europe, the United States to the Rocky Mountains and portions of Canada and Mexico. A third satellite, expected to be announced soon, will also be located over the Atlantic Ocean, and will expand Orion's services into South America, Russia and the Middle East. "Orion is today taking major, concrete steps to implement its plan for world-wide satellite communications services," said W. Neil Bauer, president and CEO of Orion Network Systems, Inc. "DACOM's prelaunch commitment represents a very substantial endorsement and investment in Orion's Asia Pacific satellite. By selecting Hughes to construct and launch the satellite, Orion assures its customers of the timely availability of a technologically advanced satellite." Construction of the large capacity satellite will begin immediately, and the satellite is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 1998. It will provide Orion with an instant infrastructure capable of offering communications services to users in all major Asia Pacific markets, including Korea, China, India, Japan and Australia, as well as the ASEAN markets and Hawaii. The Asia Pacific satellite will be a high-power, high capacity, hybrid satellite using today's two primary transmission frequencies -- C-band and Ku-band. Ten (1O) C-band transponders will provide broad distribution services, particularly to television and other program distributors. There will be thirty-three (33) Ku-band transponders including eight (8) to be used by DACOM. These Ku-band transponders will be used primarily for private business network applications and direct-to-home (DTH) video services. Orion Network Systems is an international satellite communications company that provides private, multimedia, network communications services directly to multinational businesses via small receiving antennas which bypass terrestrial infrastructures. It also transmits video communications for television and other program distribution services. Orion currently serves over 150 customers throughout North America, Europe and Latin America, including Amoco, Amway, AT&T, BBC World Services, Citibank, Colgate Palmolive, John Deere & Co., Pepsi Cola International, Westinghouse and Xerox. Technical information on the Orion Asia Pacific satellite: The Orion Asia Pacific satellite will be placed in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the earth's equator. It will be located at 139 degrees East longitude which intersects Japan and Australia thereby providing particularly advantageous coverage into Asia. There will be ten C-band transponders and 33 Ku-band transponders. The satellite will have three Ku-band high-power beams of greater than 50 dBW. It will also have high-powered C-band broad beams that provide a minimum of 34 dBW with an enhanced region of greater than 38 dBW. Ku-band frequencies will operate from 14 to 14.5 GHz uplink and 12.25 to 12.75 GHz downlink. C-band frequencies will operate from 6.425 to 6.725 GHz uplink and 3.4 to 3.7 GHz downlink. Background information on DACOM DACOM, a leading telecommunications common carrier in Korea since its establishment in 1982, provides international and long distance telephone and leased line services, and international and domestic, data communications, database and value added network (VAN) services. Also, DACOM is planning to start local telephone services in the near future and is actively expanding its businesses into wireless telecommunications services such as PCS and GMPCS. Background information on Hughes Space and Communications International Inc. Hughes Space and Communications International (HSCI), Inc. is the leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites, having built 40 percent of those in operation today. HSCI is a unit of Hughes Space and Communications Company, which is in turn a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. The earnings of Hughes Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH (NYSE symbol) common stock. NOTE TO EDITORS: Orion Network Systems and Orion Asia Pacific, Corp., its business unit serving the Asia Pacific region, will be participating in the annual Pacific Telecommunications Conference (PTC) in Honolulu, Hawaii January 19-22, 1997. Mr. Hans Giner, president of Orion Asia Pacific, will be available for press interviews throughout the conference. If you would like to schedule an interview with Mr. Giner during PTC, please contact Peggy Disney, Orion's on-site press secretary at 301-590-7420 (ph), 301-258-3222 (fx). CONTACT: David Frear, chief financial officer, 301-258-3332, or Judith Pryor, director, marketing communications, 301-670-6563, both of Orion Network Systems.