Mary-Louise Hoffman
The Defense Department has awarded Hughes Network Systems a contract of an undisclosed value to examine how satellite transports can interoperate for potential use in government wideband communications.
Hughes said Monday it aims to produce a wideband communications architecture that will work to facilitate multiple space and ground transports through a design analysis of various satellites such as geostationary and low-Earth orbit platforms.
The goal of the Wideband Communications Architecture Study is to increase the interoperability and flexibility of U.S. government satcom systems.
Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes’ defense and intelligence systems division, said the company will help DoD to define satellite system architectures that can aid network management in contested environments.
DoD seeks to operate its applications over the department’s own network as well as use commercial satellites, waveforms, terminals and gateways as part of efforts to increase mission assurance.
Hughes noted a multi-modem adaptor can help multiple service providers to develop a satcom service that will work to support automated provisioning and boost operational efficiency of networks.
