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20-480: In 1978, the Trans-Gabon Railway was connected to the city. In 2023, Fortescue Metals Group signed a deal to mine iron ore at Belinga using road and rail to reach the port of Owendo . Initially about 2m tonnes of ore would be carried. Owendo has a cement works. 00°17′N 09°30′E  /  0.283°N 9.500°E  / 0.283; 9.500 This Gabon location article

40-556: A $ 6.5 billion purchase intended primarily for its DirecTV unit. DirecTV also began selling off its ownership interests, culminating in a $ 100 million sale to a private equity firm. As a result, Hughes became a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyTerra Communications Inc., which was controlled by the investment firm. Hughes Communications was spun-off as an independent public company in 2007 and was acquired by EchoStar for about $ 2 billion in 2011. In May 2024, Dish Network and Hughes Network Systems , both Echostar companies announced

60-452: A new bundled service of Dish satellite TV with Hughesnet satellite internet. HughesNet is Hughes Network Systems' satellite-based broadband internet service. As of 2018, Hughes controls 69 percent of the market for residential satellite-based internet connections, which are mostly used by rural customers out-of-reach of wired infrastructure. Hughes also markets its services to government, business, and military. In 2012, Hughes launched

80-606: A road and railway haulage to an existing port. There are no links with the adjacent states of Equatorial Guinea , Cameroon , or the Republic of the Congo . The railway is important for transporting timber and uranium in addition to being the only important public transport route in the nation. In 1996, the railway carried freight and 190,000 passengers. The Trans-Gabon Railway, 669 km (416 mi) has 23 stations. Hughes Communications Hughes Network Systems, LLC

100-532: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Trans-Gabon Railway 1°37′21.92″S 13°29′21.56″E  /  1.6227556°S 13.4893222°E  / -1.6227556; 13.4893222 The Trans-Gabon Railway ( French : Transgabonais ) is the only railway in Gabon . It runs 670 km (420 mi) east from Owendo port station in Libreville to Franceville via numerous stations,

120-640: Is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar . It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite internet service . HughesNet has over a million subscribers in the Americas in late 2023, down from 1.4 million in early 2022. Hughes Communications was founded in 1971 under the name Digital Communication Corporation (DCC) by a group of seven engineers and a lawyer led by John Puente and Dr. Burton Edelson, who all previously worked together at Comsat Laboratories . With $ 40,000 in startup capital,

140-743: The Jupiter (stylized as JUPITER) System, Hughes' VSAT ground system that provides high-performance terminals, increased gateway architecture, and advanced air interface for both high-throughput and conventional satellites. The Jupiter System supports applications such as broadband Internet and Intranet access, community Wi-Fi hotspots, cellular backhaul, digital signage and mobility, including airborne services. Through its Jupiter Aero System, an integrated system of airborne and ground equipment and software, Hughes provides broadband access to aircraft. As of 2018, about 1,000 aircraft carry Hughes technology on board. In March 2018, Hughes announced improvements to

160-554: The Jupiter system, doubling the throughput of HT2xxx terminals to more than 200 Mbit/s and increasing capacity. Hughes HX and HT satellite broadband platforms are used for broadband IP services, high speed internet, VoIP, and video by telecom providers around the world and the military. Hughes has deployed more than 9 million VSAT terminals of all types in more than 100 countries, representing more than 50 percent market share. Hughes satellite backhaul of cellular service extends 4G/ LTE service to remote and rural areas around

180-517: The company operated from a garage in Rockville, Maryland , designing circuit boards for telecom related products. By 1977, Digital Communications Corp. had 250 employees and $ 10.6 million in revenue. In 1978, Digital Communications Corp. was acquired by Microwave Associates for an undisclosed sum, becoming MA/COM-DCC and began developing satellite related products. The company invented the very small aperture terminal ( VSAT ) in 1985. That year,

200-462: The company sold its first VSAT network to Wal-Mart, which used the “technology to connect retail stores in rural areas.” According to SatMagazine, “the global VSAT market is estimated to reach $ 10 billion by 2021.” In 1987, MA/COM-DCC was acquired by Hughes Aircraft Corporation for $ 105 million and renamed Hughes Communications. In 2004, News Corp acquired a controlling interest in Hughes through

220-694: The country. The Trans-Gabon Railway is overall adjacent the Ogooue River until Ndjolé . The most important constructions are the Juckville Tunnel , the viaduct over the Abanga swamp , and the bridge over the confluence between the Ogooue and the Ivindo Rivers . The line to Franceville was completed in 1987. Originally intended to reach Makokou and carry iron ore , its route

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240-440: The existing line. The track will be standard gauge . This line was supposed to open in 2012, but in 2014 completion is still awaited. Two EMD JT42CWR locomotives shipped September 2011. A further 4 locomotives and 10 passenger coaches were also ordered. On 18 May 2019 three workers were killed in an accident on the line. In February 2023 Fortescue Metals Group inked in an agreement to develop iron ore at Belinga with

260-418: The initial 182 kilometres of the line from Owendo to Ndjole took over 10 years to complete. The remaining 400-plus kilometres took only five years. In 2003 Hughes Network Systems (see Hughes Communications ) installed a satellite-based telephony system into all the railway stations of the railway. In June 2006 a new line for iron ore from Belinga to port was announced. It is unclear if it will use part of

280-534: The line was built well into the era of earthmoving machinery , the need to choose a narrow gauge to save costs was no longer important. As well, the choice of standard gauge ( 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in )) took advantage of off-the-shelf equipment. It was constructed by a consortium of Impregilo , Astaldi , Philipp Holzmann , Constructions et entreprises industrielles and Entreprise de construction franco-africaine. The discovery of uranium helped to secure British interest in

300-418: The main ones being Ndjolé , Lopé , Booué , Lastoursville and Moanda . A railway was first planned in 1885. Investigations into the line were conducted in 1968, funding was agreed in 1973, and construction began the following year. The first section, from Owendo to Ndjolé, opened in 1978, with the remaining sections opening in stages until December 1986. Costs were well over budget and almost bankrupted

320-516: The project, and led to the injection of funds by the Conservative government under prime minister Margaret Thatcher . Many UK expatriates took the place of French workers and the building of the railway progressed rapidly from that point. About May 1983, CCI Eurotrag (a consortium of British, Italian and German interests) took over funding. British firms involved included Wimpey International, who seconded staff to Taylor Woodrow. The building of

340-703: The service. It expanded into Colombia in September 2017, into Peru in October 2018, into Ecuador in December 2018, and into Mexico and Chile in 2019. The FCC Measuring Broadband America report ranked HughesNet number one among all internet service providers for meeting or exceeding advertised download speeds for four years in a row from 2014 through 2017. For three out of four years (2014, 2015 and 2017), HughesNet ranked number one for meeting or exceeding both download and upload advertised speeds. HughesNet

360-487: The world, specifically where conventional backhaul is difficult or costly due to geography and terrain. Hughes cellular backhaul applications include a 4G/LTE optimization capability that yields up to 60 percent bandwidth savings. In 1996, Hughes introduced a satellite Internet service for consumers and small businesses. The service was originally known as DirecPC and was renamed Direcway in May 2002. On March 27, 2006, it

380-532: Was changed for political reasons, namely to keep within national borders manganese ore traffic from COMILOG that went on the COMILOG Cableway via the Republic of Congo . When the railway reached the manganese mine at Moanda , the Cableway was closed. The railway was privatised in 1999. Plans regularly surface proposing an extension to Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo . Because

400-600: Was renamed HughesNet. In 2012, Hughes introduced its first offering of broadband satellite Internet. In March 2017, Hughes became the first satellite-based internet service provider to meet the Federal Communications Commission 's definition of "broadband" with HughesNet Gen5 after launching the EchoStar XVII and XIX high-throughput satellites. In 2016, Hughes expanded HughesNet into Brazil , marking its first international expansion of

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