Stratos Inks $315 Million Satcom Deal with U.S. Military Sealift Command

Latest News

[Satellite TODAY 07-20-11]The U.S. Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization has awarded Inmarsat subsidiary Stratos Government Services a maximum $315 million, eight-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to provide satellite communications to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), Stratos announced July 19.

The next-generation wideband commercial satellite communications infrastructure and Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband service will replace MSC’s current Bandwidth Efficient Satellite Transport (BEST) system.

The contract is structured as a four-year base period through July 2015, plus four more one-year option periods that could run the contract to July 2019

“The U.S. Military Sealift Command operates government ships, but they’re crewed by civilian mariners. Far out at sea, no one can hear your cell phone. That’s why ships of all kinds need satellite communications in order to stay in touch beyond their immediate task group,” Stratos said in a company statement.