[09-28-07 – Satellite Today]  Globecomm Systems Inc has been awarded a pair of contracts to provide U.S. government agencies with Auto-Explorer portable satellite terminals, the company announced Sept. 25.

Under the first deal, Globecomm will continue development of an X-Band portable satellite terminal. The second contract is for multiple 1.2-meter terminals supporting Ku-band operations. The terminals are IP-enabled to accept optional routers and can receive IP data rates ranging from 64 kilobits per second (kbps) to 18.2 megabits per second (Mbps). Uplink speeds can range from 64 kbps to 8.4 Mbps.

"The Auto-Explorer family of portable satellite terminals continues to gain traction in the government marketplace since the company’s introduction approximately three years ago," David Hershberg, CEO and chairman of Globecomm, said in a statement. "The continued development of X-band capable terminals is part of a long term strategy to address the growing use of X- and Ka-band frequencies by the U.S. government."

The contracts carry a combined value of $4 million.