SES Americom is among the global satellite operators that are looking to get a share of the homeland security market.

David Helfgott, president and CEO of the Princeton, N.J.-based company’s wholly owned subsidiary Americom Government Services, said he sees strong potential for both homeland security and defense applications. Americom Government Services serves the U.S. government’s civil and intelligence communications requirements, and hopes that homeland security and defense requirements will drive near-term growth.

Homeland security offers “unique opportunities” for satellites, Helfgott said. One of them is assisting with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that use commercial satellites to communicate information, he said. “Homeland security agencies may use UAVs for border patrol and other missions,” Helfgott said. Other potential homeland security applications include video teleconferencing, broadcasting, and high-bandwidth data transmission. A coordinated command and control effort also could use commercial satellites, he added.

For more on this story, see the June 2 issue of SATELLITE NEWS. For info on subscribing to PBI Media’s satellite newsletters, check out our Web site at http://www.telecomweb.com/catalog.