Employing Commercial Satellite Communications Wideband Investment Options for DOD

by Bonds, Timothy; Mattock, Michael; Hamilton, Thomas; Rhodes, Carl; Scheiern, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780833028273
• ISBN10: 0833028278
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-07-11
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

Department of Defense decisions on the amount of communications it will own or lease will in turn affect U.S. Air Force investments in new communications satellites. The study team evaluated the effectiveness of commercial wideband satellites across several characteristics defined by the United States Space Command. the cost of buying or leasing commercial systems is then compared with the cost of buying military systems with commercial characteristics. The team found that there is a large projected gap between the military demad for communications and the capability expected from present, planned, and programmed systems.

Table of Contents

Preface	iii
Figures	ix
Tables	xiii
Summary	xv
Acknowledgments	xxiii
Acronyms	xxv
Introduction	1	(4)
DoD Demand for Communications and the Role of Commercial Satellites	2	(1)
Meeting Military Criteria with Commercial Systems	3	(1)
DoD Demand Variance and Alternative Investment Strategies	4	(1)
DoD Communications Demand Projections	5	(6)
Context	5	(1)
DoD Projections of Future Military Demand	6	(5)
Meeting Military Demand with Commercial Satellites: Contact and Evaluation	11	(14)
Context: International Commercial Communications Systems	11	(6)
Terrestrial Systems and Networks	11	(1)
Satellite Systems and Applications	12	(5)
Satellite Alternatives and Evaluation Criteria	17	(8)
Can Commercial Systems Meet Military Criteria? Capacity and Coverage	25	(18)
Criteria	25	(1)
Capacity	26	(7)
Summary Evaluation of Capacity	33	(2)
Coverage	35	(5)
Summary Evaluation of Coverage	40	(3)
Military Theater Use of Commercial Satellites and Implications for Flexibility, Interoperability, and Access and Control	43	(22)
Military Theater Use of Commercial Satellites	43	(11)
Military Theater Networks	43	(2)
Military Theater Interface with Commercial Systems	45	(6)
Operational Concepts for Transmitting Traffic Between Military Theaters and Global Commercial Networks	51	(3)
Flexibility	54	(3)
Interoperability	57	(3)
Access and Control	60	(5)
Do Commercial Systems Meet the Military Criteria of Quality of Service and Protection?	65	(20)
Quality of Service	65	(4)
Protection	69	(2)
Vulnerabilities of ``Minimally Protected'' Satellites to Jamming	71	(4)
Concepts to Mitigate Disruption of Commercial Satellite Communications	75	(8)
Evaluation Synthesis	83	(2)
Prices of Commercial and Military Capacity	85	(12)
Commercial Market Providers and Products	85	(5)
Commercial Market Prices	90	(7)
Variance in Military Communications Demand	97	(8)
Demand Projections and National Security Strategy	97	(2)
Assessing the Effects of Contingencies on Demand	99	(6)
Investment Strategy Alternatives	105	(24)
Determining an Economical Balance Between Buying and Short-Term Leasing	106	(8)
Dynamic Investment Strategies	114	(1)
Approach	115	(14)
Baseline Results	117	(5)
Effect of Order-Receipt Lag	122	(4)
Effect of Discount Rate and Price Drift	126	(2)
Effect of Demand Variations	128	(1)
Conclusions	129	(14)
Appendix
Standard Frequency Designations	133	(2)
Current DoD Communications Satellites	135	(2)
Graphical Method for Communications Planning Under Uncertainty	137	(6)
References	143