Agencies Discover Satellite Power

Federal Times – Sometimes forest fires rage inconveniently far from cell towers, leaving responder teams potentially cut off from support. But managers can look to the skies for communications solutions.

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WGS Sales to Allies Undermine U.S. Comsatcom Industry

Space News – January 27, 2014 Op-Ed by Andrew Ruszkowski – The overseas combat operations of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down just as the Department of Defense has begun to focus on making more efficient use of dwindling budgets and scarce resources. Key DoD leaders, including those at the U.S. Air Force’s…

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XTAR Appoints Andrew Ruszkowski Chief Commercial Officer

XTAR Press Release – Andrew Ruszkowski has been named Chief Commercial Officer at XTAR, LLC, a provider of satellite capacity to U.S. and Allied governments in the X-band frequency. In the newly created position, Ruszkowski will continue to support XTAR’s fleet development to sustain current and anticipated government and military requirements, including working with the…

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Maintaining Security for Hosted Payloads

I recently participated in the annual Hosted Payload Summit here in Washington, D.C.  The critical issue of security for government users of hosted payloads was top of everyone’s mind.  These users will not deploy their sensitive and critical applications on hosted payloads if they feel that cyber-security measures have not been well defined and successfully…

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SATELLITE 2013 – Sequestration, HTS, Terminal Upgrades, & Mr. Kendall

SATELLITE 2013 is fast receding in the rear view mirror, but there were a few things about this year’s show that stayed with me and my XTAR colleagues who attended the three day annual conference and exhibit. Not surprisingly, the most talked-about issue was sequestration and the impact it will (not “might”) have on the…

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Satellite Bandwidth for Lunch: Buy or Bring?

The commercial satellite operators that support DoD missions have long advocated for changes to the way the DoD contracts for commercial satellite bandwidth. Why? Why would a commercial satellite operator want the DoD to become more efficient at buying its bandwidth? Shouldn’t commercial satellite operators be happy with selling bandwidth to the DoD each year…

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Commercial X-band: In the ring with Ku- and Ka-Band

There is a lot of chatter in the marketplace right now regarding the pros and cons of Ka- vs. Ku-band. Commercial X-band, a frequency reserved entirely for U.S. and Allied Governments’ use, has multiple technical advantages which make it a solid contender in any bandwidth selection process, yet is has been strangely left out of…

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New Technology and User Requirements Drive Change in XTAR Strategy

The U.S. and its Allies are facing significant troop draw downs in Afghanistan. Potential massive spending cuts are looming in U.S. federal and state governments. Presumably the next conflict zones will lie in Asia. DoD procurement methods continue to constrain the cost-effective use of commercial SATCOM. New and continually more sophisticated technologies in intelligence, reconnaissance…

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