Broadband Global Area Network

Thinking outside the box sometimes means putting systems into use that haven't even been packed in the box yet. The U.S. Army is deploying prototype technologies immediately to meet urgent troop communications needs in Afghanistan.

Inmarsat Navigation Ventures Limited, London, England, is being awarded an $18 million contract to develop and certify a transceiver terminal for the Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service provided by the I-4 constellation that is capable of operation from onboard a low earth orbit satellite; make appropriate modifications to the BGAN network to support space-based terminal equipment; support the integration of the space-based BGAN terminal with a government demonstration satellite; and support the on-orbit connectivity via the BGAN network for the demonstration satellite mission. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.