Navy taps Comsat for satellite communications

The Navy tapped Comsat Mobile Corp. for a $112 million contract to provide global, high-speed data services to aircraft carriers and to amphibious ships that transport Marine expeditionary units.

The contract calls for Comsat, a subsidiary of Communications Satellite Corp., to provide 64 kilobits/sec communications over International Maritime Satellite Communications Organization satellites to support communications between ships and between ships and shores around the world.

The contract provides the pipes the Navy needs to connect its deployed ships to the service's Information Technology for the 21st Century project. Statos Communications Inc., which provided interim 64 kilobits/sec service to the Navy under a short-term contract expiring this year, also bid on the contract.