Secure Terminal Equipment
Appearance
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/STE_telephone.nsa.jpg/220px-STE_telephone.nsa.jpg)
Secure Terminal Equipment(STE) is the U.S. government's current and encrypted telephone communications system for wired communications (as of 2008[update]).
It is designed to useISDNtelephone lines. It offers higher speeds of up to 128 Kbit/s. The greater bandwidth allows higher quality voice. They also can also be used for data and fax transmission through a built-in RS-232 port.
STE is intended to replace the older STU-III office system and the KY-68 tactical system.[1][2]
Models[change|change source]
- Office:The Office STE (most widely used STE) provides voice and data access to ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) telecommunications systems.
- Tactical:The Tactical STE is similar to the Office STE but can also access the TRI-TAC (TRI Service TACtical) network. It has a serial EIA-530A/EIA-232 BDI (Black Digital Interface) port.
- Data:The Data STE provides remote access for voice, fax, data and video-conferencing. This model has two serial EIA-530A/EIA-232 BDI ports. It also allows for data transfers to multiple destinations.
- C2:The C2 STE is similar to the Tactical STE but C2 has modified software for use with its Tactical Terminal Locking Handset mechanism.
- STE-R:Similar to the Data STE, the STE-Remoteprovides dial-in access to the Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN).
- VoIP:The STE now hasVoice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) capability, available as an upgrade to the current models, or built into some new models.
Sources[change|change source]
- ↑"Secure Telephone Unit Third Generation (STU-III) / Secure Terminal Equipment (STE)".Federation of American Scientists.Archived fromthe originalon December 9, 2010.RetrievedSeptember 2,2010.
- ↑"STE: Secure Terminal Equipment: Direct Sale Pricing".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-10-15.
Other websites[change|change source]
- The NAVY INFOSEC WebSite on STU-III and STEArchived2016-05-22 at theWayback Machine