Alright friends, riddle me this.
One technology that is a fixture of the wider Freespace universe beyond BP is near-instantaneous, intersystem communication. We see several examples of this throughout the main FS2 campaign (been too long since I played FS1 to remember if there as well) the most notable of which is allied command in the final mission of the main campaign when Capella goes nova. This implies that somehow, electromagnetic signals must be transmittable via subspace. The subspace nature of this tech is further reinforced by the fact that communications seems to hold in the Nebula, even with EM interference that sends sensors on the fritz with only a few exceptions (Kappa Wing).
In the BP continuity, it is explained that the root of NAGARI is the ability to project transmissions into minds via a similar subspace mechanism, and that ETAK succeeded by beaming transmissions directly into Shivan vessels IIRC, though I defer to the devs. This latter NAGARI component, broadcasting messages that translate into human thought, is certainly a technological leap from being able to broadcast signals that can be understood by a radio.
My question then is why is ETAK fundamentally different from the intersystem comms technology that is in widespread service? If the average GTVA fighter can carry intersystem comm gear, surely the technology is miniaturized and mundane enough that ETAK wouldn't be necessary. Why couldn't Bosch or the NTC Trinity have just pointed their ship's intersystem comms gear at any Shivan vessel and kicked off communication that way if regular transmissions did not work? Could every fighter in the GTVA inventory then have the ability to communicate with the Shivans?