Comtech EF Data Corp., was awarded a $6.5 million buying agreement from Harris Corporation. Under the buying agreement, Harris will purchase Comtech EF Data ground equipment to support the satellite network upgrade of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) Alaskan Satellite Telecommunications Infrastructure (“ASTI”) program. The not to exceed $6.5 million buying agreement encompasses a range of Comtech EF Data ground equipment, including the CDM-625 Advanced Satellite Modem with DoubleTalk^® Carrier-in-Carrier^®, redundancy switches, and RF products for indoor and outdoor environments.

As the prime contractor for the ASTI program, Harris will replace and upgrade the existing satcom network that links the Alaskan Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage with 64 FAA facilities throughout the region. The ASTI program will provide increased network performance and availability while reducing operating and maintenance costs for the FAA's Alaskan National Airspace System Interfacility Communication System. This infrastructure provides Alaska with 90 percent of its inter-facility communications for critical, essential and routine air traffic control services supporting commercial aviation.

This mission-critical network has relied on Comtech EF Data modems for over 15 years. These will be replaced with Comtech EF Data’s CDM-625 Advanced Satellite Modem with DoubleTalk^® Carrier-in-Carrier^®. The CDM-625 combines the patented VersaFEC^® low latency forward error correction with DoubleTalk^® Carrier-in-Carrier^® bandwidth compression for maximum savings under all conditions. DoubleTalk^® Carrier-in-Carrier^®, based on Raytheon Applied Signal Technology's patented "Adaptive Cancellation" technology, allows transmit and receive carriers of a duplex link to share the same transponder space. This combination of advanced technologies will minimize OPEX/CAPEX and maximize network throughput/availability, optimizing valuable transponder resources.

A variety of RF products are covered in the agreement, including indoor and outdoor frequency conversion and amplifier systems. The outdoor RF products include the LPOD Block Up Converters, the SPOD Solid State Power Amplifiers, and the CSAT Transceivers. The rugged and weatherproof outdoor products with field-proven performance and reliability are the ideal choice for harsh Alaskan weather conditions. The indoor products include the UT and DT Frequency Converters, the CPA Solid State Power Amplifiers, and the MBT-5000 Up/Down Converter System.

“We are honored to be Harris’s teammate in this vitally important project, and believe our advanced technologies will be critical components in increasing network performance and availability for the FAA,” commented Fred Kornberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. “Under the terms of the agreement, product deliveries are expected primarily in our fiscal 2014.”