Military integrator offers network nodes for remote sites

PacStar specializes in delivering leading-edge network systems to difficult places

Need to get high-bandwidth, reliable network nodes up quickly in far-flung locations? Take a look at PacStar, a network integrator that specializes in delivering leading-edge network systems to difficult places.

"If you’re looking for a Cisco solution in Denver, we’re not your guys," says PacStar CEO Robert Frisbee. "But if you need integrated VoIP or wireless systems in the mountains of Afghanistan, call us."

PacStar’s main client is the U.S. military, including Army, Navy, Air Force and special operations forces. PacStar also serves foreign governments and NATO countries.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Need to get high-bandwidth, reliable network nodes up quickly in far-flung locations? Take a look at PacStar, a network integrator that specializes in delivering leading-edge network systems to difficult places.

"If you’re looking for a Cisco solution in Denver, we’re not your guys," says PacStar CEO Robert Frisbee. "But if you need integrated VoIP or wireless systems in the mountains of Afghanistan, call us."

PacStar’s main client is the U.S. military, including Army, Navy, Air Force and special operations forces. PacStar also serves foreign governments and NATO countries.

To serve these clients, PacStar has five offices in the United States as well as offices in Korea, Germany and Dubai.

Now PacStar is developing a commercial version of its flagship product, the PacStar 5500, for use by oil, gas and other companies that need to rapidly deploy advanced communications systems in the field. Its systems also can be used by medical facilities, financial services, transportation firms and others for disaster recovery.

The PacStar 5500 has integrated nodes for cellular, WiMAX and satellite networks. It also has a gateway that allows it to interconnect with land mobile radios. The system includes VoIP, analog and digital PBX, and secure wireless communications.

The PacStar 5500 is a ruggedized network node that is built into two cases, which weigh about 240 pounds total. The node costs $100,000.

Frisbee says the PacStar 5500 is replacing military communications equipment that weighs a ton and costs $1 million.

"We have talked to soldiers who get dropped into the plateaus of Afghanistan, and it might be three to five days before they have full-fledged communications," Frisbee says. "We have developed network nodes that are almost immediately deployable in integrated packages to deliver the kind of high bandwidth, high reliability services that they need."

PacStar says its units are not only smaller in size than competing solutions but are also easier to learn and use because of their sophisticated management interface. Company officials say one person can get the system up and running in as little as 15 minutes.

"What we’ve done is taken the major network management functions and boiled them down into icons," Frisbee says. "We’ve replaced about 10,000 pages of documentation with 17 icon-driven wizards and about 100 pages of documentation."

The PacStar 5500 has been available for a year, and the company has deployed 40 units for customers including the U.S. Army Central Command in Afghanistan and the Afghan National Army. State and local government agencies are evaluating the PacStar 5500 for disaster preparedness as are utilities.

LGS, the federal government arm of Alcatel-Lucent, has selected PacStar’s 5500 to integrate with its Tactical Base Station Router, which provides instant access to commercial cellular service from anywhere in the world. The router acts as a complete cellular system as well as a gateway between cellular and VoIP networks.

"The PacStar group has an excellent remote service," says Ed Bursk, chief marketing officer of LGS. "We can instantly extend that into the mobile phone with our base station router, which can support a variety of network configurations. Together, they have a number of interesting applications including some that are significant in emergency situations such as disaster recovery and reverse 911."