MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium
Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that Satcom
Direct, Inc. (SD) is the newest Value Added Manufacturer (VAM) and
service provider for Iridium Certus aviation products. SD will be
designing and manufacturing new terminals for compatibility with
the Iridium Certus service, while also providing the service direct
to the business aviation community. The new products and services
are being added to the SD Connectivity portfolio, integrating with
the company's existing technology and software value-adds to
enhance the end user experience.
As a global leader in connectivity and avionics solutions, SD's
mission is to synchronize the aircraft with flight
operations. Iridium Certus will integrate with existing SD
hardware and software, including the already popular
SDR® Series and SD Hub Series of cabin routers, as well
as the SD Pro® platform, to provide customers with
features and capabilities like real-time data analytics, cyber
security, account management and more. This partnership will
help extend the reach of SD's existing customer base by offering
fully global L-band broadband coverage, while creating a
complete, end-to-end customer experience for aviators. This latest
announcement builds on the existing agreement between Iridium and
COMSAT, an SD company, which named COMSAT as an Iridium Certus
service provider for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) users in
February this year.
"Due to the global nature of our business, adding Iridium Certus
to our portfolio, from both a hardware and a service standpoint, is
a natural fit," said SD VP of Strategy Dylan Browne. "Not only will
Iridium Certus integrate directly with our existing platform and
equipment, it opens a new era of possibilities for our business
aviation customers."
Iridium Certus aviation customers will gain access to smaller
hardware, faster speeds, competitive price packages and unmatched
global coverage. The service will soon deliver the fastest L-band
broadband speeds on the market and provide data speed options of up
to 704 Kbps, and eventually as high as approximately 1.4 Mbps. For
Iridium Certus aviation applications, commercial service
introduction is expected in 2019, after completion of inflight
trials.
"It's an exciting time for Iridium, and especially for the
aviation line of business," said Bryan
Hartin, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing at
Iridium. "With every leading VAM and service provider we add, the
need for Iridium Certus is validated, continuing our strong
momentum. Between the upcoming completion of the
Iridium® NEXT launch campaign and the beginning of the
initial flight trials, the coming months are very promising."
Enabled by Iridium NEXT, the Company's next-generation,
$3 billion satellite constellation,
Iridium Certus will provide higher quality voice capabilities,
alongside enterprise-grade broadband functionality, for the entire
planet, whether on land, in the air or at sea. Commercial
availability for other industry verticals, such as maritime and
land-mobile, is planned for 2018. To date, there have been seven
successful Iridium NEXT launches, deploying 65 new satellites. One
launch remains to complete the historic constellation refresh.
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. The company has a major development program
underway for its next-generation network — Iridium NEXT. 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.
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 the
deployment of the Iridium NEXT constellation and the launch timing
and expected benefits of Iridium Certus. 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 potential delays in the Iridium
NEXT deployment, the development and functionality of Iridium NEXT
and related products and services, including Iridium Certus, and
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, 2017, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 22, 2018, and in the Company's
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, filed with the SEC on July 31, 2018, 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
|
+1 (646)
872-0067
|
+1 (703)
287-7570
|
Twitter:
@Iridiumcomm
|
Twitter:
@IridiumIR
|
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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.