Miriani

ICA Announces Second Long-range Beacon Expansion

The Intergalactic Communication Authority announced today that the second phase of the long-range communication beacon repair, internally dubbed Project Hermes, has been completed. The reinstatement of the necessary beacons throughout uncharted space was finished in early January and nearly a month has been spent evaluating software patches to enhance security for the entirety of known space and beyond.

"Security is our top concern," said Field Engineer Declan Reynolds to a reporter from the Galactic News. "With the increased incursion of our sectors and the continued exploitation of infrastructure and personnel to gain access to unauthorized channels over the past six years, we've taken a step back and rewritten the network stack that makes faster than light communication a reality. The backbone of the network has been redesigned from the ground up to meet the demands of increased intrusion by bad actors."

"Thousands of engineers" were sent to make hardware updates to existing relay nodes over the intervening three years since the last phase, and the new beacons being deployed feature the latest in onboard hardware encryption to facilitate speedy and reliant communications. The communication range of the network now spans up to 3,500 lightyears, with the final phase of the project planned to be the most ambitious, according to a written letter from the Intergalactic Communication Authority.

"We can't give any deadlines, but I'm very proud of the work that's been finished so far by our dedicated teams," added Percival Jendren, Vice President of Infrastructure at the ICA.

The Alliance High Guard continues to work closely with the Intergalactic Communication Authority to ensure defense of these new beacons is a priority. Increased Praelor activity have put an enormous amount of strain on this effort, however.

"The communication beacons are as paramount to military personnel as they are to civilians communicating with their families from afar. We consider this to be a critical use of our fleets and despite increased tensions between the alliances and the hostile Ontanka faction, we feel that we've been able to provide the necessary defensive capability that the High Guard is known for," Admiral Dean Cantrell said.

Dated: 02/17/2366