MCLEAN,
Va., Sept. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM), a leading
provider of global voice and data satellite communications, today
announced that the 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP) accepted Iridium's request to extend the functionality of
Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) for Non-Terrestrial Networks
(NTN) into the Work Plan for 3GPP Release 19 as an official Work
Item. This will pave the way for Iridium's satellite service to be
accessible via industry standard chipsets, furthering the company's
progress in developing and deploying its newest service, Iridium
NTN Direct℠, over the Iridium® Network. Born from the
company's Project Stardust initiative, the Iridium NTN Direct
service being announced today is expected to be the world's first
truly global 5G NB-IoT service. 3GPP Release 19 is
currently scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of
2025.
In January 2024, Iridium announced
Project Stardust to enable NB-IoT NTN standards-based communication
through its operational LEO constellation – and has since made
considerable progress at a rapid pace. Iridium NTN Direct technical
development is well underway, with a successful demonstration
having taken place earlier this year in a lab environment. Iridium
has also joined GSMA, and is continuing to advance development with
additional trials and demonstrations scheduled for early next
year.
"We're already well into our technology development, and we're
excited about our progress and to see so much enthusiasm from the
3GPP community," said Greg Pelton,
CTO, Iridium. "As a cloud-based service powered by the flexibility
of our software-defined satellites and building upon recognized
industry standards, we've been able to jump off to a super-fast
start. Our team is really motivated to make this happen."
Iridium NTN Direct will offer the opportunity for smartphone
companies, OEMs, chipmakers, mobile network operators (MNO) and
related IoT developers who utilize 3GPP standards-based technology
to leverage Iridium's existing network and globally allocated and
coordinated spectrum, providing a global, low-latency LEO user
experience.
"When it comes to providing D2D, we don't have to be first, but
we have to be the best. Iridium NTN Direct is an important
initiative for us, and we've been able to pivot on an unprecedented
scale and make significant progress toward providing the best
service," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "We're grateful for
the wide industry support of our vision to expand access to
Iridium's global lifeline service by enabling it for anyone with a
cellular device."
The Iridium satellite constellation's crosslinked, LEO
architecture and global L-band spectrum provide a service advantage
versus other LEO and geostationary satellite networks. Certified to
provide safety of life services by international regulatory bodies,
the Iridium network is known for its reliability and continues to
be the only network that provides connectivity everywhere on Earth.
Operating in LEO, the Iridium constellation does not suffer from
the same line-of-sight limitations, significant power requirements
or outages that can affect entire regions from a single satellite
as faced by geostationary systems.
For more information about Iridium, visit: www.iridium.com
For more information about Iridium NTN Direct, visit:
www.iridium.com/ntn-direct
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium® is the only mobile voice and data satellite
communications network that spans the entire globe.
Iridium enables connections between people, organizations, and assets to and from anywhere, in real time.
Together with its ecosystem of partner
companies,
Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions
for markets that require truly global communications. In
2024, Iridium acquired Satelles and announced the Iridium Satellite
Time and Location service. Iridium
Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common
stock trades on the Nasdaq
Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM.
For more information about Iridium
products, services, and partner solutions, visit
www.iridium.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure
Statements in this press release that are not purely
historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The Company has based these statements on its current expectations
and the information currently available to us. Forward-looking
statements in this press release include statements regarding 3GPP
Release 19 and the capabilities, benefits and timing of the
proposed Iridium NTN Direct service. Forward-looking statements can
be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes,"
"expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and
other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events,
trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to
differ materially from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, whether the final 3GPP Release 19 includes NB-IoT NTN
specifications compatible with the Iridium network, the timing of
3GPP Release 19, the successful technical development of Iridium
NTN Direct, the adoption of Iridium NTN Direct by the market and
uncertainties regarding the company's ability to maintain the
health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation, as
well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive,
legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors
listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2023,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on
February 15, 2024, and the Company's
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2024, filed with the SEC on July 23,
2024, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC
from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's
expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions
prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and
Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking
statements.
Press
Contact:
|
Investor Contact:
|
Jordan
Hassin
|
Kenneth Levy
|
Iridium Communications
Inc.
|
Iridium Communications
Inc.
|
Jordan.Hassin@Iridium.com
|
Ken.Levy@Iridium.com
|
X:
@Iridiumcomm
|
+1 (703)
287-7570
|
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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.