Hughes has added a ground game to its repertoire with the aquisition of DSL provider Telocity, according to C.E. Unterberg, Towbin.

The satellite service provider will pay $2.15 per Telocity (ticker TLCT) share in cash, which totals about $180 million.

Telocity was probably pushed toward the acquisition because of the difficult financing and operating environment for DSL providers, according to C.E. Unterberg, Towbin.

Telocity offers DSL service for $49.95 per month with no sign-up fee or annual commitment.

The service is a 640 kbps (90 kbps uploads) ADSL connection. Telocity offers residential broadband services in more than 140 metropolitan areas. In the 34 states, it had 23,494 subscribers as of September 30, 2000.

The offer is expected to commence by Feb. 1, 2001 and be completed by April 2, 2001. Meanwhile, Hughes has agreed to advance $20 million to Telocity.