Spacenet Announces First Wave of Contracts for its New Connexstar(SM) Business-Grade Satellite Broadband Service

Initial contracts signed for deployment of thousands of sites nationwide

McLean, VA, May 14, 2002 - Spacenet Inc. today announced that it has signed the first group of contracts for its Connexstar broadband service. With more than a dozen customers and three resellers announced today, Spacenet has firm commitments to deploy Connexstar at nearly 2,000 sites over the coming year - with many more expected as these customers and resellers fulfill the terms of their three-year Connexstar contracts.

Connexstar, introduced in January, is the first satellite broadband service providing affordable, commercial-grade, wide area network (WAN) connectivity to America's small and mid-size multi-unit enterprises. Powered by Gilat's 360E VSAT platform, Connexstar provides broadband Internet connectivity anywhere in the continental United States - with the ability to add high-speed credit authorization, commercially licensed TV and music, distance learning, content multicasting and secure backhaul services using the same in-store hardware.

With these new contracts, Spacenet has firmly established Connexstar as the leading commercial-grade satellite networking service for smaller chain businesses - enterprises that historically have been unserved by the VSAT industry. Connexstar has met with a positive response from several leading industry research firms, including Boston's Pioneer Consulting, LLC.

"Historically, small to mid-size organizations have been overlooked by VSAT providers since several hundred locations are necessary to cost-justify installation and operation of a custom VSAT wide area network," said Pioneer's Senior Market Analyst Michael Massey. "These overlooked businesses represent a sizeable market opportunity for the service provider who is able to develop a simple, cost-effective VSAT solution that can be deployed in networks ranging from 50-300 sites."

David Shiff, Spacenet's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said, "This very strong early adoption of our new service is a clear indication that Connexstar is well suited to the needs of small to medium-sized, multi-unit businesses, and that there is a sizable demand for the service. Also, the fact that Connexstar leverages the same installation, maintenance and quality-of-service (QoS) resources used for Spacenet's largest custom-network clients has contributed greatly to its success."

About Spacenet
With headquarters in McLean, Virginia, Spacenet Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. of Petah Tikva, Israel. Spacenet provides two-way, satellite-based, broadband networking solutions for a wide range of organizations throughout North America. These solutions include provision of all equipment, bandwidth, implementation and ongoing network and field support on a full turnkey, outsource basis. Visit Spacenet at www.spacenet.com.

Spacenet Media Contact:
David Myers
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development
(703) 848-1200
david.myers@spacenet.com