Navy Times is reporting that the military now has a better way now of getting live TV out to remote locations. Excerpts:
On Super Bowl Sunday, about 300,000 deployed troops nearest to civilization — or what passes for it — will be able to easily tune in to the American Forces Radio and Television Service to watch the NBC broadcast of the big game.For the old timers out there -- when was the first time you watched live TV when you were underway?
But thanks to modern technology, as many as 50,000 service members deployed to the most remote and rugged locations — think the mountains of Afghanistan, or a submerged submarine — also will be able to catch the big game.
The remote-areas feed comes courtesy of the same Raytheon system that carries classified big-bandwidth operational and intelligence data and, to some locations, distance-learning classes. Raytheon has partnered with the Air Force, which manages daily operations of the Global Broadcast Service, to carry the Super Bowl on its fast-growing third satellite channel that provides morale services, such as 24-hour access to CNN.
And before you ask: The game broadcast won’t interfere with the transmission of vital live unmanned aerial vehicle imagery or any other intelligence data on the GBS.
“It’s a multi-channel broadcast,” said Guy DuBois, vice president of operational technologies and solutions for Raytheon’s intelligence and information systems directorate. “So we will use whatever channel is available without disturbing the operations mission.”
