WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded Harris CapRock a 10-year contract potentially worth $46 million to continue providing satellite network solutions in support of the air traffic management system in Alaska, the company announced Dec. 3.
Under the Alaska Satellite Telecommunications Infrastructure (ASTI) contract, Harris CapRock of Fairfax, Va., will provide voice and data communications services via an unspecified two-satellite system operating in the C-band, the company said in a press release. The ASTI system will provide links between an FAA aircraft routing hub station in Anchorage and 64 remote FAA facilities throughout the region, according to the company’s website.
The ASTI is the next-generation replacement for the FAA’s existing Alaska National Airspace System Interfacility Communications System, according to the Harris CapRock website. ASTI enhancements include increased network performance, availability and redundancy, the company said.
The new contract includes a two-year base period and eight, one-year options, Harris CapRock said.
Harris CapRock was the satellite solutions provider for the legacy sysetm, according to Anna Fry, a company spokeswoman. Harris Government Communications Systems of Melbourne, Fla., was previously selected to replace and upgrade components of the legacy system, Fry said.
She declined to identify the commercial satellites being used for the ASTI service, saying only that they are operated by two different companies.
“We bring the stability, resources, expertise and technologies required to support the Alaskan aviation community and the FAA,” David Cavossa, Harris CapRock’s president of government solutions, said in a prepared statement.
