WASHINGTON-Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) have asked the General Accounting Office to conduct a prompt review of the Pentagon’s commercial satellite procurement practices.
The two lawmakers, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appear to be concerned about the Department of Defense’s reliance on Intelsat, a global satellite service provider that was privatized in 2000, for satellite links. The senators’ Nov. 13 letter to GAO was followed by one from Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) in support of the probe.
ICO, GlobalStar, Iridium and other mobile satellite carriers compete with Intelsat.
