Ericsson North America's Douglas Smith explains the Department of Defense's motivation for building a global WCDMA network for battlefield communication: "Thirty years ago, in terms of mobility and capability the military had radios well in advance of what private individuals used. Today, however, the military is far behind what the average 18-year-old is using on the streets of our cities."

The so-called Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), which will take four to five years to build, will allow simultaneous voice, video and data communication between US army, air force, navy and marine corps troops. Key to the system are four high-capacity geostationary satellites that will provide a global radio footprint. Base stations in five centers around the world will use the satellites to relay signals from handsets on ships, in jet fighters, tanks, vehicles and various command centers.

WCDMA gets the okay
The Department of Defense has chosen communications integrator General Dynamics C4 Systems to handle the ground segment of the MUOS project. General Dynamics has in turn selected Ericsson to supply WCDMA wireless equipment, as well as to provide services that support network deployment, integration, program management and software development. The total value of the order for Ericsson is expected to reach USD 200 million.

Smith says Ericsson went through tremendous scrutiny during the four-year tender process, with seven other vendors competing for the contract. "The military had very strict requirements in terms of systems technology, and of course it wanted a financially stable partner that would be around for the duration of the project," he says. "Ericsson was perfectly positioned on both counts."

The defense department chose WCDMA as the bearer for the system because it considers the technology to be more secure than the alternatives. In addition, the terminals are cheaper and there is more R&D spending going into WCDMA than into other technologies. The department wanted to be on the WCDMA development curve, which will ultimately allow it to upgrade to HSDPA.

Sights set on future orders
The order establishes Ericsson as a key player in the US defense sector, which Ericsson North America President and CEO Angel Ruiz says is an area worthy of focus. "Now that the telecommunications equipment market in the US has become so competitive, we've had to go looking for business outside the traditional wireless and wireline infrastructure space," says Ruiz. "And with the US defense industry being so capital intensive, it makes sense for Ericsson to get into it."

Ericsson is now going after some even bigger defense contracts. The US Special Forces, for instance, want a communications system that will allow them to carry a complete network in a backpack. In a similar program, the US Army is looking to develop a portable radio network that it can take onto the battlefield. Ericsson has been working on solutions that address these needs and various trials will begin next year.

Smith foresees a bright future for Ericsson in the US defense sector, and his team is currently talking with a number of groups about longer-term projects to connect the battlefield with the command center. "We're looking at things like relaying soldiers' biometric data and providing commanders with video coverage via robot drones," he said. "For these exciting projects the defense department will need a great deal of communications infrastructure, which Ericsson as the industry leader is well-positioned to provide."