Blog
All Aboard? Alleviating the Military’s SATCOM Cost Burden
Last week, satellite manufacturers and operators met with the Air Force in El Segundo for a frank exchange about the role of commercial satellites in Pathfinder 2. Pathfinder is an initiative within the Air Force looking to build bridges with the commercial satellite industry in an effort to buy smarter SATCOM.
Read MoreTough Love for Africa
President Obama’s recent historic visit to Africa to pay tribute to his father’s land included a pledge of support and a commitment to future investment from the United States government. The issues of security and protection were common themes in his speeches, along with the need for increased development and forward progress. Obama highlighted the…
Read MoreThe Nexus of Possibilities
During my time at XTAR, I have refined my elevator speech on XTAR’s value proposition and how the company is unique in the satellite communications world. To be clear, when I say, “unique”, I mean, one of a kind — not just special. This is because no other company brings together the service characteristics of…
Read MoreWhy won’t DoD see the light?
Commercial satellite operators can justly claim a portion of credit for the successful DoD missions in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade and a half, and before that during the Balkans conflicts. We’ve reallocated transponders by the dozen, steered beams from other regions into Southwest Asia (SWA) and the Middle East (ME), moved satellites…
Read MoreCan the U.S. build business in Latin America?
For a few years now, I’ve been hearing how there are so many business opportunities in Latin America with Brazil at the top of the list. I hear how they are spending a lot of money on defense, space and security. And of course I hear about events like the World Cup in 2014 and…
Read MoreLike the Maytag Repair Man
XTAR’s X-Band Service Reputation for Dependability & Lack of Interference Can Make Our Payload Operations Technicians a Little Lonely Let me start off by saying XTAR is a tremendous place to work, the missions are exciting, the people are inspiring, the applications are fascinating, and above all, I work with an excellent team. Technically, my…
Read MoreUtilization and Flexibility: The Missing Pieces from WGS
Those who espouse the notion that commercial bandwidth is more expensive on a per-MHz rate than the cost of fielding a WGS system are likely overlooking several key factors. The average price for commercial bandwidth (as leased through DISA) divided by the lowest common denominator (the price of one MHz of commercial bandwidth for one…
Read MoreForm and Function: Why Settle When You Can Have Both?
I’ve always considered myself an amateur architect. I love both the aesthetic and structural characteristics of buildings, military installations, gardens and monuments. During my undergraduate studies I would hang out with my classmates who were in the architecture program, absorbing everything I could about the evolution of the discipline and the ways in which humans modify their…
Read MoreX-band Terminal Supply Meeting Mobility Demands
By Patti Aston Lately there has been an increase in Ka- and X-band terminal manufacturing and investment. A new focus on mobility — the application for which X- and Ka-band frequencies are particularly well suited – and on smaller antennas, are driving terminal manufacturers to innovate in ways not seen before. Simultaneously, manufacturers are bringing to market terminals…
Read MoreIf Orange is the New Black, Is Ka-band the New Ku-band? Why the Frequency Debate Cannot Overlook the Virtues of the Whole Spectrum
By Philip Harlow The introduction of vast quantities of Ka-band to the market has created quite a stir. Bandwidth is plentiful and cheap; it’s going to take over the world! At least that’s what some of the hype suggests. As the frequency band debate rages on, and as we consider how Ka-band is going to…
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