(December 3, 2002) - Nearly 1 billion handsets will be capable of running Java applications by 2006, according to the latest ARC Group market research study, and nearly all mobile handsets will be Java-enabled within five years. Anticipating the pervasiveness of Java, Hughes Network Systems, Inc. (HNS) has signed a license agreement to incorporate Insignia's Mobile Foundation Java-enabling software platform into HNS-designed Thuraya mobile satellite/GSM handheld phones.

The phone's dual capabilities enable customers to access GSM services wherever available, and automatically switch to satellite mode whenever outside of local terrestrial reach. This is the first HNS phone to deploy Java technology.

Insignia's handset provisioning software will enable HNS mobile phones to download and run J2ME-based mobile services, including personal information management software, address books, games, business-to-business applications, and messaging.

The current version of the handset, the HNS-7100, is now available and is being exclusively deployed by mobile satellite operator Thuraya, with coverage in about 100 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, north and central Africa, the CIS countries, and south Asia - a landmass inhabited by an estimated 2.3 billion people.