The company plans to upload NB-IoT NTN
standards into its operational LEO constellation
MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium
Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM), a leading provider of global
voice and data satellite communications, today announced Project
Stardust, the evolution of its direct-to-device (D2D) strategy with
3GPP 5G standards-based Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT)
Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) service development. As a new
standards-based solution, it will be deployed on Iridium's existing
satellite network giving the company a unique ability to offer both
high-quality proprietary and standardized D2D and IoT services to
its customers.
The early stages of programming Iridium's low-Earth orbiting
(LEO) satellites offers a special opportunity to smartphone
companies, OEMs, chipmakers, mobile network operators (MNO) and
related IoT developers to have their requirements woven into the
fabric of the Iridium® network. Iridium is already
collaborating directly with several of these companies.
"This is an exciting moment for Iridium and is a testament to
the flexibility and capability built into our satellite
constellation," said Iridium CEO Matt
Desch. "The industry is moving quickly towards a more
standards-based approach, and after surveying the field, we found
that we're the best positioned to lead the way using our own
network, particularly given our true global coverage."
Iridium is designing its initial NB-IoT offering to support 5G
NTN messaging and SOS capabilities for smartphones, tablets, cars,
and related consumer applications. Adopting the service will enable
device manufacturers to add a satellite connection to standardized
devices, take advantage of existing, globally allocated and
coordinated Iridium spectrum, and provide a superior low-latency
LEO user experience. The Iridium network supports
approximately 1,300 SOS and emergency (911 or equivalent) incidents
per year, around the world and has readily available systems,
processes, and partners to implement this capability for new
devices.
Iridium understands the market need for its customers to develop
and certify products quickly. Applying our established onboarding
processes, chipmakers and NB-IoT developers can join Iridium's
ecosystem of about 500 partners, and choose a proprietary,
standards-based, or dual-solution integration approach for added
network redundancy. MNOs will have the opportunity to be a one-stop
shop for ubiquitous coverage and off-grid use cases, with unmatched
industry reliability. Iridium partners are supported by a 24/7
customer support, back office, billing, and provisioning system,
all ready to support the new service upon launch.
The Iridium satellite constellation's fully crosslinked, LEO
architecture and global L-band spectrum provides a competitive
service advantage versus other LEO and geostationary satellite
networks. Certified to provide safety of life services by
international regulatory bodies, the Iridium network has become the
gold standard of 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.
The recognized leader in satellite IoT and personal
communications, Iridium has more than two decades of experience and
an unmatched partner ecosystem supporting more than 2.2 million
users around the world. As of the third quarter of 2023, Iridium
subscribers have grown at a 15% CAGR over the last five years, and
the company serves approximately 1.7 million IoT customers today,
including about 900,000 personal trackers and satellite messengers
for consumer, enterprise, and government applications. Known for
its reliability, coverage, and low power requirements, the Iridium
network is an ideal fit for NB-IoT NTN service.
The company is currently working with several D2D and
IoT-focused companies to understand and incorporate their use
cases, requirements, and end-user needs into its planned service.
The company anticipates testing to begin in 2025, with service in
2026. To learn more about Iridium NB-IoT NTN plans or to
participate in the development process, visit
https://www.iridium.com/project-stardust/
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 2019, the company completed a generational
upgrade of its satellite network and launched its specialty
broadband service, Iridium Certus®. 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
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.
Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the
development and capabilities of, and market for, NB-IoT services on
the Iridium network. 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,
uncertainties regarding customer demand for Iridium's products and
services; Iridium's ability to maintain the health, capacity and
content of its satellite constellation, and the development of and
market for Iridium's products and services, 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, 2022, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 16, 2023, 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 are based on information available to it
as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date
of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to
update forward-looking statements.
Press
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Investor
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Jordan Hassin
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Kenneth Levy
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Iridium Communications
Inc.
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Iridium Communications
Inc.
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Jordan.Hassin@Iridium.com
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Ken.Levy@Iridium.com
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+1 (703)
287-7421
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+1 (703)
287-7570
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@Iridiumcomm
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