Harris-led Team Completes First Satellite Communications Site For the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure Program
May 10 2006 - 10:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
MELBOURNE, Fla., May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harris
Corporation (NYSE:HRS) today announced that it has achieved site
acceptance of the first satellite communications site as part of
the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) program. The Key
West, Florida-based satellite site is the first of 42 sites that
Harris will upgrade with new satellite communications equipment
through its FTI Satellite (FTI-SAT) program. "Completion of the
first FTI-SAT site is another key milestone in the ongoing progress
of the total FTI program," said John O'Sullivan, FTI program vice
president for the Harris Government Communications Systems
Division. "The FTI satellite network will provide dramatic cost
savings for the FAA as we transition services from the legacy
satellite network to FTI-SAT. This project will enable Harris to
provide the FAA with the best communications technology available
for the best value at all remote sites. These sites serve as
critical links within the FTI network, the most secure of any
network serving civil agencies of the U.S. government." FTI-SAT is
an important element of the overall FTI program for which Harris is
the prime contractor and system architect. FTI-SAT will replace
legacy satellite equipment at remote FAA sites to support critical
radar, weather, and air/ground communications. The Key West site
serves the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center, and is the first
satellite site to be completed. The remaining sites will be
upgraded over the next eight months with Harris microwave
communications equipment and new telecommunications lines, or
de-activated as part of the planned FTI-SAT rollout. Teammates on
the FTI-SAT effort include Americom Government Services and
Globecomm Systems, Inc. During the 15-year FTI program, Harris is
upgrading and improving telecommunications and operations functions
at more than 4,400 FAA facilities nationwide, providing the FAA
with a safer, more efficient network that is projected to save more
than $600 million in operating costs over the life of the program.
FTI equipment has now been installed and accepted at 1,500 FAA
facilities with 5,000 operational services accepted and in service
nationwide. Other major program milestone accomplishments include
the completion of an Internet Protocol over Asynchronous Transfer
Mode (IP over ATM) backbone for the FAA in November 2005. The IP
over ATM backbone interconnects the nodes of the largest FAA
facilities across the nation. This backbone connects 21 Air Route
Traffic Control Centers and is used to cost-effectively support the
broad distribution of data throughout the National Airspace System.
In January, Harris announced the completion of the Hawaii portion
of the FTI network. All 21 FAA sites in the Hawaii system, together
with all 98 associated services, have been transitioned to the FTI
network. The cutover of Hawaii, a key operating segment within the
FAA's Western-Pacific Region, marks the first consolidated business
area within the FAA to completely cutover from the legacy network
to FTI. In March, Harris announced the completion of the 44 core
sites comprising the new FTI Mission Support network, which
replaces the FAA's existing wide- area network for administrative
functions such as payroll and e-mail. More than 70 percent of the
FAA's smaller sites have already transitioned to the Mission
Support network and all transitions are expected to be complete by
June 2006. Harris is leading a team of top telecommunications
companies consisting of AT&T, BellSouth Corporation, Qwest
Communications International, Sprint, Verizon Communications, and
Raytheon Technical Services. The team is supporting the FAA's
replacement of the Leased Interfacility National Airspace System
(NAS) Communications Systems (LINCS), the Data Multiplexing
Network, Bandwidth Manager, and the National Aviation Data
Interchange Network with an integrated telecommunications
infrastructure. Requirements include replacing more than 24,000
circuits, upgrading switching and routing services, improving
network monitoring and control, implementing a state-of-the-art
security system, and providing network-engineering services. Harris
Government Communications Systems Division conducts advanced
research studies, develops prototypes, and produces and supports
state-of-the- art, assured communications(TM) solutions and
information systems that solve the mission-critical challenges of
its military and government customers, while serving as the
technology base for the company's diverse commercial businesses.
Harris Corporation is an international communications and
information technology company serving government and commercial
markets in more than 150 countries. With headquarters in Melbourne,
Florida, the company has annual sales of over $3 billion and more
than 13,000 employees, including 5,500 engineers and scientists.
The company's four operating divisions serve markets for government
communications, RF communications, broadcast communications, and
microwave communications. For more information, visit
http://www.harris.com/ . Sound interesting? Find great jobs at
Harris: http://www.careers.harris.com/ DATASOURCE: Harris
Corporation CONTACT: Sleighton Meyer, Government Communications
Systems Division, +1-321-727-6514, or , or Brent Dietz, Corporate
Headquarters, +1-321-724-3554, or , both of Harris Web site:
http://www.harris.com/
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