EMS Technologies, Inc. announced today a contract to supply PDT-100 packet data satellite terminals to the U.S. government. The multi- year contract, for 1,200 units per year, represents the first sale of the EMS PDT-100 to a military customer.
The PDT-100 is currently deployed with trucking companies and law enforcement and emergency management agencies to support high-speed data communications. The PDT terminals will be installed on ground support vehicles that operate in the continental USA.
The initial installation will be in excess of 300 terminals. The PDT-100 terminals provide real-time satellite communication over the MSV MSAT-1 satellite network. With the PDT- 100, mobile ground support vehicles will remain in communications range anywhere in North America.
The solution incorporates web-based applications software called TracerLink, which was developed by Miletus Associates, Inc. TracerLink provides command centers with a real-time graphical display of where their personnel are, and also with the ability to dispatch orders to them. The position and messaging data is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access.
Don Trone, president of Miletus, commented, “Even though TracerLink runs as a web- based application, it looks and feels like many resident applications. Our commercial users keep the browser logged in almost constantly. It is an ideal choice for military applications where controllers may be located in different areas of the support base.”
After success in the transportation and public safety sectors, this contract represents the first military application for the PDT-100 terminal. James McMillan, director, Land Mobile Group, EMS Technologies, remarked, “EMS is pleased to work with Miletus in providing the U.S. military a state-of-the- art satellite communications solution.
Developing a solution for the U.S. military requires equipment of the highest quality. The EMS PDT-100 terminal is hardware of the caliber that the U.S. military has come to expect.”
The system communicates using MSV’s MSAT-1 satellite, a geostationary satellite in orbit 36,000 kilometres (approx. 22, 400 miles) above the earth. Using MSAT-1’s spot beam technology, MSV offers superior coverage and capacity.
This technology turns all of North and Central America, northern South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and up to 250 miles offshore into a single, digital communications cell. As a result, MSV can deliver to end- users advanced and affordable wireless communications from anywhere to anywhere.
