Comtech’s new Bridge solutions are designed to “bridge the gap” for satellite and terrestrial infrastructures. Graphic: Comtech Telecommunications

Comtech Telecommunications is rolling out a new suite of solutions called Bridge that are designed to “bridge the gap” between satellite and terrestrial networks. The Bridge solutions announced this month are tailored to initial customers including emergency service providers, remote communities, military operators, and maritime customers.

This new Bridge approach is Comtech’s answer to the convergence of satellite and terrestrial networks, and the convergence of satellite communications and geospatial imagery, Comtech CEO Ken Peterman said in a recent interview with Via Satellite. 

As satellite systems are now built across multiple orbits, and satellite communications are converging with telecommunications, Comtech needs to “provide a ground structure and ground terminals that satisfy a more comprehensive value proposition,” Peterman said. 

The Bridge solutions are designed to be infrastructure, cloud, and application agnostic to open up new options for interoperable connectivity services and applications. Examples include: standing up full-service communications networks in a matter of hours after a natural disaster; providing maritime customers with beyond-line-of-sight ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communications capabilities on the move; and creating interoperability connectivity for Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) operations.

Comtech’s Bridge solutions are part of a move toward smarter networks, Peterman said. Customers don’t want to buy a box and use it for 15 years, they want a ground infrastructure partner with fast-evolving solutions. 

“Subscribers want to be connected across all of these network infrastructures simultaneously. They want their data to route intelligently,” Peterman said. “That calls for us to provide a capability to be the connective tissue between these historically diverse and independent ecosystems, and provide both the orchestration so that the data can move rapidly across these various networks in an intelligent and sophisticated way.”

Peterman has been CEO of Comtech for just over a year, and this new way of solving problems is part of his work to unify the company and its capabilities. In the past, Comtech was organized as 14 independent, siloed businesses. Peterman said a year ago, Comtech brought those siloed businesses together and moved toward common tools and processes, and ways to create new products working across the business lines. 

“We’re able to reduce redundancy and streamline decision making,” Peterman said. “We’re able to put technology building blocks together so that we can create a more comprehensive value proposition.” 

As part of this process, Comtech introduced Bridge to select customers, including proof of concept demonstrations for maritime users.