Navy to increase broadband speed tenfold

The Navy is about to install new satellite technology that will increase bandwidth by up to 10 times what is currently available on board ships.

The new terminals will provide frigates, cruisers and destroyers with access to high-speed Internet, video and other broadband services. The terminals are part of the Commercial Broadband Satellite Program's Unit Level Variant program.

Harris Corp., which is based in Melbourne, Fla., will supply up to 55 terminals for the program. The 1.3-meter satellite communications terminals have X- and Ku-band capabilities. 

Harris was awarded the five-year contract, potentially worth up to $77 million, in 2008.

In a related development, the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command tested broadband satellite communications during the Joint Users Interoperability Communications Exercise held at Fort Monmouth, N.J., and at military installations across the world.

During JUICE 2009, Spawar tested a Digital Video Broadcast – Satellite – Second Generation (DVB-S2) modem from iDirect Government Technologies over Deterministic Time Division Multiple Access (D-TDMA). Though originally developed for video transmission over satellite, DVB has been adopted in data platforms to simultaneously transfer voice, video and data traffic.