U.S. allied governments that have purchased shares in the U.S.-led Wideband Global Satcom constellation of military Ka-band communications satellites agreed generally - but not unanimously - with a U.S. Air Force assessment that WGS capacity was far less costly than equivalent bandwidth purchased on commercial satellites. As one after another military service made the case that WGS is a better deal than commercial capacity at the Global Milsatcom conference organized by SMi Group Nov. 4-6, commercial satellite operators in the audience shook their heads and responded that military managers have little idea of what military satellite capacity actually costs. Some military officials agreed that, as in the United States, the budgets for purchasing satellite hardware were separate from the budgets for operating satellite systems and buying the related ground infrastructure, making an all-in cost for military systems hard to assemble.
展开▼
