This paper examines the practical use of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology to transmit a Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-2 video signal, as well as other traffic, over a satellite link. The results of a multimedia field demonstration during which the MPEG-2 video signal was transmitted, along with videoconferencing and Internet access, over an INTELSAT Ku-band satellite link, are presented. These three applications were multiplexed together using an ATM switch, and connected to COMSAT's ATM link accelerator via a DS3 wide area network. The ATM link accelerator was utilized to provide fiber optic-equivalent quality and performance over a satellite link, with bit error rates of 1×10^-9 or less. The ATM link accelerator extracted the 8-Mb/s demonstration traffic from the DS3 signal, and routed it to the earth station. This paper illustrates the use of ATM technology to enable multiplexed traffic, including MPEG-2 digital video, to be transmitted over a satellite link, forming a hybrid transmission system consisting of local and wide area networks.