Another facet of the GIG, the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion (GIG-BE) will be a secure, robust, optical terrestrial network delivering high speed classified and unclassified IP services to 92 military and intelligence sites around the world. The GIG-BE will be an infrastructure deployed throughout the world for the purpose of facilitating network-centric solutions for the war fighter-to take a transformational leap forward by making bandwidth and reliability worrisome issues of the past.

The GIG architecture is composed of interrelated operational systems and technical views, defining the characteristics of and relationships among current and planned GIG assets in support of national security missions. The GIG architecture incorporates all major organizational relationships, information flows, enterprise networks, systems configurations, and technical standards. 

SRC engineers have been instrumental in exercising the capabilities of the GIG by conducting tests in the GIG evaluation facility and GIG Final Operation Test and Evaluation. Some of the tests have included Service Oriented Architecture Clients and Server, voice over IP, ship-to-shore over a satellite simulator, voice quantity and quality testing, GIG bandwidth expansion testing, multi-protocol label switching over ATM future GIG network protocols, and end-to-end testing across GIG optical core.