AT&T wins polar satellite system deal

AT&T Corp.'s government unit won a seven-year, $10 million contract to build an Internet Protocol-based communications network to support a national next-generation satellite system, the company said today.

AT&T's IP virtual private network will support Raytheon Co.'s management of the collection and delivery of data gathered by polar-orbiting satellites. It will be based on multiprotocol label switching, an IP technology with a common, unifying architecture that enables flexible, high-performance networks.

AT&T was awarded the contract for the project under Raytheon, which is a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman Corp.'s space technology division, the project's prime contractor.

The project combines the meteorological and Earth observation functions of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the Defense Department.

AT&T Corp. of Bedminister, N.J., is No. 20 on Washington Technology's 2004 list of federal contractors, ranked according to their prime IT contracting revenue. The company had revenue of $34.5 billion in 2003. Its government unit is in Vienna, Va.