Army starts to create SATCOM-as-a-service contract
Gettyimages.com/ Yuichiro Chino
By
Nick Wakeman
The service branch wants to create a satellite communications marketplace that leans on commercial-style purchasing for global coverage.
The Army is looking to buy satellite communications as-a-service in a move to bring more commercial like buying to the military branch.
From the solicitation documents released Wednesday, it appears that the Army will pursue a multiple-award strategy as it wants to create a marketplace for buying satellite communications that provide worldwide coverage.
Intelsat and SES both hold blanket purchase agreements for satellite communications. The Army awarded the BPAs in 2023 for one year and they are worth around $7 million, according to Deltek data.
The Army also wants the contractors to provide SATCOM terminals for the Sustainment Transport Service program. This will require multi-band capabilities, training, and maintenance.
The goal is a subscription service for SATCOM capabilities, according to the statement of work.
The new blanket purchase agreement will have one base year and four individual option years. The Army also wants surge support built into the contract.
High-bandwidth capabilities are a requirement and so are redundancies to mitigate outages due to technical issues or intentional disruptions.
The Army wants feedback on its approach, including whether two tiers of services is adequate. They also want comments on data plans, consumption limits and usage metering.
Comments are due Nov. 15.