Inmarsat’s Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch: Govt, Industry Partner to Create Integrated Satcom Architecture

Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president for government strategy and policy at Inmarsat, has said calendar year 2017 saw several efforts that government and industry leaders initiated to build an integrated satellite communications architecture that views commercial and military satcom as a “holistic capability.”

Cowen-Hirsch wrote in a SpaceNews commentary published Dec. 18 those efforts include the launch of the Analysis of Alternatives in January and the passage of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, Inmarsat said Friday.

She noted the FY 2018 NDAA marks the initial step towards making commercial satcom an “integral part of the satcom architecture.”

Government mobile users that aim to have access to global satcom wideband capabilities have started to adopt the satcom-as-a-service business model, she added.

Cowen-Hirsch also mentioned the advancements in narrowband and other critical technologies that seek to meet users’ high-throughput requirements such as the Wideband Streaming L-band and L-band Tactical Satellite platforms.