The twenty-first century military communications will depend critically on satellite systems for their global reach. The two major networking technologies underlying the global information infrastructure (GII) will be asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Internet (IP). The seamless operation of ATM and Internet over the hybrid (satellite and terrestrial) GII will be essential for the unhampered access, dissemination and exchange of information. However, there are major challenges to achieve seamless operation for ATM and Internet via satellite systems. Specific issues related to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and internet standards to function efficiently and provide high-quality service over satellite links and networks are discussed. Standardization activities for terrestrial and satellite interoperability of ATM and Internet Protocols (IP) are described. New technologies developed to address these issues are presented, including dynamic adaptive coding, data compression, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Proxy, bandwidth on demand, and traffic management. These technologies are currently incorporated in COMSAT Laboratories products such as COMSAT Link Accelerators for ATM and IP and the LINKWAY/sup TM/ 2000.