Global Milsatcom Show Daily | An ‘enormous’ supply of bandwidth available for defense, military

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 View this email in your browser Sponsored by Satellite operators working to attract military business LONDON  — The trend in military communications: Huge data pipes and tiny terminals, all at affordable prices. And don't forget cybersecurity. Satellite operators say they are bringing to market the products and services that fit these demands. One problem that typically gets in the way is that the industry's business models and military requirements don't necessarily align. Companies in the United States, particularly, have for years debated with the Pentagon a strategy for how to satisfy national security needs without having to design military-unique systems. The industry has invested billions of dollars in so-called high-throughput satellites that cover 99 percent of world and feed the world's growing appetite for the "internet of things." The military is a major target customer. — Sandra Erwin An 'enormous' supply of bandwidth available for defense, military There was a time when the U.S. military had to scramble to book commercial satellite capacity. With forces deployed around the world, it seemed there was never enough bandwidth to stream live video and fly surveillance drones over war zones. Circumstances have changed. The satellite communications industry has dramatically scaled up capacity and has no plans to stop, to the point that supply is now outstripping demand. "There's orders of magnitude more supply coming" from geostationary satellites, and even more on the way as "new space" low-Earth orbit constellations enter the market over the next decade, said Christopher Baugh, president of Northern Sky Research. — Sandra Erwin Luxembourg eyes Earth-observation satellite for military and government The European Govsatcom demonstration project is on schedule to start providing secure satellite communications services to governmental users next summer, according to Holger Lueschow, satellite communications program manager at the European Defence Agency (EDA). The Govsatcom project, which aims to address the gaps in access to timely, secure and affordable satellite communication services for European governmental users, will rely on pooling and sharing of assets of individual member states. The service will be further supplemented with assets of commercial providers. "We have made a progress, we have already a common understanding of what services should be provided and how," Lueschow said Nov. 7 at the Global Milsatcom conference in London. "We have a common understanding of the business model and the role of the EDA. There are still challenges and later this month we will look at the question of how to finance the project, or more specifically, how to finance the services to be provided." — Tereza Pultarova Cyber experts say threats to satellites are legion If your company or organization uses a network, there are people who want to hack it. If you haven't tried to stop them, those hackers are probably already in your network. That was the message from cybersecurity experts at the CyberSat Summit Nov. 7 in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Satellites are just another target in a cyber world rife with perpetrators. "It's not if, it's when," James Turga, executive assistant director of the FBI's Information and Technology Branch, said about getting hacked.  Turga said around 1.4 million new phishing sites form every month, and ransomware sold on a hidden level of the internet known as the "dark web" has gone up 2,500 percent.  "Those are staggering numbers and the amount of tools that are out there because of various leaks from organizations have now caused a situation where the threat is so prolific, [that] it doesn't matter if you are 'mom and pop' or a Fortune 500 company or the FBI or NASA." —Caleb Henry Sponsored Like sentries, satellites never sleep Commercial satellites are always ready to support the soldier, the pilot, the seaman with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as Global Positioning System data to paint a picture of the enemy and of assets available to defeat it. "You can use space to find targets, analyze movement and do all this litany of stuff that you only dreamt about when you watched the Discovery Channel as a kid. It's pretty amazing," said Maj. Matthew Orlosky, an A-10 pilot, in a recent Space Command video. But soldiers need time away from war, and commercial SATCOM is also there to aid in physical and mental recovery with telephone, instant messaging, email, Facebook and other social media connections to friends and family. Keeping up with events away from the battlefield, as well as other leisure activities require SATCOM. Where once communications from the front involved letters that took weeks and months in transit, satellite-aided transmissions are instantaneous. — Intelsat General Corporation Copyright © 2017 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SpaceNews Inc. 1414 Prince St, Suite 204 Alexandria, VA 22314