PETAH TIKVA, Israel -- Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILTF) today announced that its subsidiary, Spacenet Inc., has acquired all remaining shares of StarBand Communications Inc., not already owned by Gilat and plans to merge the operations of StarBand into Spacenet. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Gilat expects that the combined Spacenet and StarBand operations will be able to achieve greater efficiencies and economies of scale. Spacenet customers and current StarBand customers should not experience any interruptions or loss of service quality related to the merger.

StarBand sells satellite-based broadband services to residential, teleworker and small-office/home-office users directly and through its network of channel partners and agents in North America and the Caribbean. Spacenet provides satellite and hybrid terrestrial connectivity, application services and network management to multi-site enterprises, franchises and government users throughout the United States, including some of the world's largest satellite-based networks.

Gilat Chairman and CEO Shlomo Rodav said, "We believe that this transaction is an important step forward in our efforts to grow Gilat's services business unit. With Spacenet and StarBand operating together, we see a synergistic opportunity for growth and efficiency as one tightly integrated business serves the needs of all satellite network users in North America."

Spacenet Inc.