[frank2]

I always thought the Pentagon has had a robust global satellite communications network for decades already.

(I don't know whether it is Internet-protocol based. My guess is yes.)

[kevin_thibedeau]

Just look what happened when Iridium failed and became propped up by government users who wanted its capabilities.

[lmm]

A businessman bought the Iridium assets in bankruptcy and put a lot of effort into selling the service to the US government. It absolutely wasn't just the US government picking it up.

[ryanmarsh]

High latency, low bandwidth

vs

Low latency, high bandwidth