Inmarsat is delivering beyond line of sight communications to deployed U.S. and coalition forces through its partners and the capabilities of its Inmarsat-4 satellite constellation, it said. The L-band Tactical (L-TAC) Satellite service augments ultra high-frequency capability, Inmarsat said in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1pLSFyg). It fully enables interoperable satellite communications using existing radios, waveforms and cryptography, it said. L-TAC also will support the civil government market for things like emergency response and border protection, Inmarsat said.

ViaSat demonstrated 1 Mbps throughput over the LightSquared SkyTerra-1 satellite to a small terminal less than 8 x 5 x 2 inches. The delivery occurred in both fixed configurations and mobile applications at speeds up to 65 miles per hour, ViaSat said Tuesday in a news release. The waveform was delivered as part of the ViaSat L-band Managed Service, it said. Receiving 1 Mbps with a small mobile terminal “creates an opportunity to address unserved and underserved mobile market segments,” it said.

Intelsat renewed its contract with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service to deliver radio and TV programming to military forces around the world. Under the contract, Intelsat General provides a global distribution network that delivers multichannel, broadcast quality programs, Intelsat said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/ZOEdQj). The service reaches more than 200,000 people using 307 MHz of bandwidth carried over 9 satellites, 6 teleports and an Intelsat terrestrial network, it said. The original contract was signed in 2011, with six one-year renewal options, Intelsat said.

The NFL and DirecTV reached a multiyear deal extending the company’s exclusive rights to carry NFL Sunday Ticket and its package of Sunday afternoon out-of-market games, said the firm in a news release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1ueg5le). The deal expands DirecTV’s rights to stream Sunday Ticket on mobile devices and over broadband. Under AT&T’s planned buy of DirecTV, the telco could have walked away from the deal if the NFL Sunday Ticket package wasn’t renewed, AT&T has said in SEC filings (CD May 20 p1).

Dish Network’s DishLatino added Spain’s Antena 3 Internacional to its lineup. The channels connect U.S. subscribers “to their home country abroad and expands the cultural variety for all viewers,” Dish said in a news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1wNwsEW). The new channel will be in DishLatino’s Plus, Dos and Max packages in standard definition on Channel 839, it said.

Orbitcom and SES expanded a partnership to include the delivery of a satellite broadband service in Germany. Astra Connect “uses a single antenna to provide an entire community with a satellite broadband connection, which is then distributed via a local network infrastructure,” SES said Thursday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1uKgpWH). Users served by the networks will be able to browse the different packages offered online “and then place orders through a dedicated website and webshop set up by Orbitcom,” it said. The ISP also will be responsible for the delivery of the equipment and customer support, SES said.

Iridium said it will provide global emergency tracking technology to the aviation community for free. Through its subsidiary Aireon, Iridium will offer the Aireon aircraft locating and emergency response tracking (ALERT) service, letting rescue agencies request the location and last flight track of aircraft flying in airspace currently without surveillance, Aireon said in a news release Sunday (http://bit.ly/1mCF9RX). The service will work with aircraft equipped with 1090 MHz automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) receivers, it said. ALERT will be available after the Aireon air traffic monitoring system is fully deployed, it said. Iridium plans to launch the first payloads in that system next year (CD Feb 19 p10).

Gogo partnered with Virgin Atlantic to offer in-flight connectivity services on Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft. The companies expect Gogo’s global connectivity solution, 2Ku, to deliver “unprecedented bandwidth to the aircraft,” Gogo said Wednesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1wEfImo). The companies agreed on principal terms and are working to finalize a definitive agreement, Gogo said. All of Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft “will be retrofitted with Gogo’s 2Ku solution,” it said.

Inmarsat launched IsatHub, a global connectivity service for smartphones and tablets. It offers standard IP data up to 240/384 kbps, Inmarsat said Tuesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1u37LlM). The service lets users surf the Internet, access apps and text, and use other functions “when they are hundreds of miles outside a terrestrial fixed or mobile network,” Inmarsat said. IsatHub is accessed using Inmarsat’s small Wideye iSavi terminal, it said.

Orbcomm launched commercial service for its first six next-generation OG2 satellites. The satellites are processing more than 20 percent of the network’s machine-to-machine traffic, Orbcomm said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1qWQOd1). Orbcomm is now collecting more than 13 million Automatic Identification System messages “from more than 130,000 unique vessels per day,” it said. The satellites are fully backwards compatible with Orbcomm’s existing OG1 network, it said.