By Outrider Editorial Team · Updated August 20, 2026
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing specialized telecommunications services, such as satellite tracking, communications telemetry, and radar station operation. This industry also includes establishments primarily engaged in providing satellite terminal stations and associated facilities connected with one or more terrestrial systems and capable of transmitting telecommunications to, and receiving telecommunications from, satellite systems. Establishments providing Internet services or Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services via client-supplied telecommunications connections are also included in this industry. Establishments in this industry do not operate as telecommunications carriers.
NAICS 517810 obligated $231 million in FY2025 across 589 contract actions. DoD is $174 million, Commerce $28 million for NOAA satellite operations, VA $7 million, USDA $6 million, DHS $6 million. The larger share of this industry still records under 517919, the 2017 code that NAICS 2022 renumbered to 517810, which took in $873 million in FY2025. Nearly four times more money went to the retired code.
What belongs here
Specialized telecommunications services: satellite tracking, communications telemetry, radar station operation, and satellite terminal stations connected to terrestrial systems.
- The legacy code for the same industry, still carrying most of the spend, is 517919.
- Satellite capacity and resale is 517410.
- Wireline carriage is 517111.
Competing in this code
25 IDVs across 589 actions is the thinnest vehicle coverage of any telecommunications code here, which means most of this work is competed or sole-sourced individually. The buyers are mission-specific: satellite operations centers, range and tracking stations, and telemetry networks that need operators with cleared staff and site-specific certification. That specificity works in a small firm's favor, because the qualification is about the people who can run a particular ground station, not about corporate scale. The reconciliation caution applies here as it does to any renumbered code: search and register both vintages.
Frequently Asked
NAICS 517810 questions, answered.
What is the SBA size standard for NAICS 517810?
SBA sets it at $40 million in average annual receipts, averaged over your last five completed fiscal years. Come in at or under that and you are small on every NAICS 517810 solicitation, including the set-asides.
Which agencies buy specialized telecommunications under NAICS 517810?
FY2025 obligations: DoD ($174 million), Commerce ($28 million), VA ($7 million), USDA ($6 million), DHS ($6 million). Commerce's share is NOAA satellite operations, and these figures exclude the $873 million that ran under the retired code 517919 in the same year.
What work is actually bought under NAICS 517810?
Satellite tracking, communications telemetry, radar station operation, and satellite terminal station services. In federal practice that means operating ground stations, range and tracking sites, and telemetry networks, which is why the buyers are satellite operations organizations, not enterprise IT offices.
Is the 2017 code 517919 still worth tracking?
Yes, more than the current code. FY2025 obligations were $873 million under 517919 against $231 million under 517810 for the same industry. A vendor searching only the 2022 code misses roughly four fifths of the market, and buying offices working from older vehicles still use the legacy number.
Register Under NAICS 517810
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