GIT Satellite and Iridium Satellite will provide communications for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which begins March 4. GIT Satellite will donate a complete complement of Iridium equipment, airtime, and data-enabling kits to be used to communicate with remote outposts along the 1,049-mile route from Anchorage to Nome, the company announced.

"Most of the Iditarod Trail is beyond the reach of landlines or cellular towers, and the satellite phones will be the only way to keep in touch with these remote regions of Alaska,” Stan Hooley, executive director for the Iditarod, said in a statement.

"The Iridium phones provide an important margin of safety and security for the mushers, volunteers and the bush pilots supporting the Iditarod, enabling us to respond quickly to any emergency along the trail. It is the only communications available for several points along the Iditarod trail.”