The Pros and Cons of Privatizing Military Comms

摘要

The first lesson of economics is scarcity. When supply is low and demand high, prices soar, and some will go without. In the U.S. Defense Department, both the demands and costs for reliable, resilient, and robust communication services continue to grow. As the services consider options to privatize aspects of communication, both the opportunities and challenges require thorough consideration. Ideally, privatization improves efficiency. The Defense Department, like most large organizations, suffers from years of accumulated new starts. One-off programs, rapid fieldings and homegrown projects have left communication closets and CONEX containers filled with aging equipment and long sustainment tails. Failure to deliver a global enterprise solution for network and data services also has challenged consolidation and unification. Furthermore, homegrown helpdesks and service menus vary in standards and confuse subscribers. Paying for a commercial provider to coalesce programs within a unified set of technologies and standards should reduce waste.