Secure field communications is a critical component when military personnel are conducting operations. If the right security protocol is not implemented, the information being transmitted can be intercepted, resulting in catastrophic losses. With all the available technology today, it is more important than ever to ensure the communication solutions that field operators use have the highest security measures in place. In order to assure mobile communications in the field, the U.S. government is going to be adopting Inmarsat’s (News - Alert) L-Band Tactical Satellite (L-TAC).

The L-TAC service works on the Inmarsat I-4 constellation, which was launched on July 25 of this year on the Inmarsat 1-4A F4, or Alphasat satellite.

L-TAC was successfully tested by the US government and the technology has been accepted as a viable solution for providing high-quality voice communications, ease-of-use, and speed of setup, which are key components in a deployment where there is little to no infrastructure.

The L-TAC service works in conjunction with UHF satellite capacity providing L-band service when UHF channels are inaccessible or unavailable. Operators in the field will be able to use an adapter known as the Slingshot, which was developed by the Spectra Group, to start using the L-TAC service.

It has a push-to-talk technology that allows different personnel to communicate on the same channel at the same time. This will greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to communicate mission-critical orders and receive intelligence from soldiers or other personnel in the field.

"Military users need to exercise reliable and cost-effective command and control of widely dispersed forces in austere environments where terrestrial infrastructures are non-existent. The L-TAC service provides clear communications at high speeds, crucial for convoys on the move in hostile environments. Such service is in critical demand on a global basis, enabling existing in-service tactical radios to access Beyond Line of Sight communications without the need to modify existing hardware," said Susan Miller (News - Alert), Inmarsat Government’s president and CEO.

Inmarsat Government is a wholly owned subsidiary of Inmarsat plc. headquartered in Herndon, VA. The company provides mission-critical telecommunications solutions to the US military, intelligence, and civilian organizations. Its satellite infrastructure provides an end-to-end managed network solution capable of delivering anytime, anywhere communications.