Inmarsat’s Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch: Wideband Satcom AoA Needs ‘Commercial First’ Mindset

Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president for government strategy and policy at Inmarsat, has said the Defense Department should collaborate with the commercial industry to accelerate the “analysis of alternatives” for the wideband satellite communications program.

Cowen-Hirsch wrote in an article published Thursday on the National Defense magazine website that a cultural shift is needed to expedite AoA and one way to do that is to implement a “commercial first” approach in the development of future satcom architectures.

“With a ‘commercial first’ mindset, private companies supply the ‘big rocks,’” she noted.

“This leads to more rapid development of core components of any strategic, focused and well-integrated satellite architecture – one that enables global mobility, resiliency, high data-driven functionality, security and affordability.”

She also cited the need for “more transparent interaction” between the commercial working group and other teams in order to further support AoA for wideband satcom.

“This would aid in leveraging the resulting ‘lessons learned’ to develop a lasting, valuable, integrated satellite architecture for servicemen and women,” Cowen-Hirsh added.