Inmarsat is moving one of its five in-orbit spare satellites over the Middle East to meet rising demand for military and media communications in that region.

The London-based provider of mobile satellite services undertook the move to ensure that communication would be available to its customers, despite increased use during peak hours resulting from the escalating military conflict in Iraq, Inmarsat officials said. The company provides support to all the world’s major broadcast networks, such as CNN, BBC and NBC, and wanted to offer its customers in the media, government and aid agencies global area network (GAN) access in the Middle East region.

GAN is used by news organizations to connect their videophones for live broadcasts. Satellite videophones and high-speed data terminals enable journalists to file stories from the battlefield and remain in contact with their colleagues and news bureaus.

Videophones can be readied for live broadcast quickly. Instead of hauling cumbersome satellite equipment and using a satellite uplink truck, a war correspondent now carries a videophone that is opened, its antenna unfolded, and connected to a camera to begin transmitting live images. Among Inmarsat’s nine in-orbit satellites, five now will be in use and the other four will remain spares that also can double as a global leasing network for certain services.

–Paul Dykewicz