The Orchid has signed a 740 million zark contract to upgrade the DDS communications network and improve facilities at DDS Communications Command (DDS-COMMCAM). The money will mainly go into further upgrades to the Hypernet which links the various planets in the UNP and spacecraft. Bandwidth and security will be improved which are thought vital with the growing cyber threats the DDS are facing.
These will be the final upgrades to the existing infrastructure before work starts on it's replacement Ultranet in 2113. Ultranet will be a next generation and multi-year programme to totally replace the communications and network infrastructure of the DDS and UNP state facilities. The total pricetag of Ultranet is now estimated at 37 billion zarks though this is to be spread over 12-15 years and will not all come from the DDS budgets.
