Military to increase dependence on commercial communications.

• Author: Stanton, John

The satellite communications industry is bullish about future growth in military business. The industry's support of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq has helped solidify the relationship between the government and commercial suppliers, officials said.

The experience both sides have gained during the past three years has "led to the realization by the Defense Department, and the government in general, that a more cooperative approach leads to cost savings for government and profitability for industry," said Bob Demers, director of business development for Inmarsat.

Inmarsat is one of several commercial suppliers that provide communications services to the Defense Department.

Demers suggested that commercial satellite communications services are "critical" to the Pentagon's war-fighting capability, because it has become too costly for the military to rely exclusively on their own satellites. "Procurement is expensive and you run the risk of having technology that is obsolete. They started to build their own systems, but it took too long," he said, adding that on September 11, 2001, the Pentagon "found itself in a lurch."

A study by the Satellite Industry Association pointed out that 80 percent of all military traffic used during the Iraq invasion traversed many of the 232 commercial satellites orbiting the planet.

At the beginning "it was a gut-wrenching experience," he said referring to private sector's ability to meet the Pentagon's needs after 9/11. Inmarsat moved satellites into proper orbits and opened up bandwidth to enable a wider flow of information. "Inmarsat supported U.S. logistics personnel on their way to Baghdad," he said.

According to the study, the Defense Department usually leases satellite communications capacity on the open market and relies on short-term leases with the lowest bidders. This practice can cause a degradation of assurance-of-service.

With U.S. military personnel at 702 locations around the globe, the Pentagon will have to rely more on satellite communications services.

Inmarsat has rolled a regional broadband global area network system that provides data and voice connectivity in 99 countries outside a particular state's local communications...