MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium
Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) today hailed the completion of
its $3 billion satellite
constellation upgrade campaign known as Iridium® NEXT,
during a press conference held at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C. During the press
conference, the company also used the opportunity to introduce a
new small-form-factor transceiver known as the Iridium
CertusSM 9770, which will enable creation of new
consumer and industrial applications that are highly portable and
IoT-friendly, optimized for small size and low cost, yet with
higher speeds than in the past thanks to the upgraded Iridium
satellite network.
The completion of the Iridium NEXT campaign comes as the final
two satellites required to complete the network refresh were
activated on February 5th at
approximately 2:15 p.m. EST. With a
fully operational constellation, featuring 66 new Iridium
satellites and no further launches planned, Iridium has concluded
its nearly decade-long capital-intensive program that created an
upgraded network both in space and on the ground. After spending
several hundred million dollars per year to build and deploy the
new network, Iridium expects capital costs to decrease to
approximately $35 million per year,
with revenues continuing to grow as the company expands into newer
revenue streams like broadband, IoT and hosted payloads.
"The completion of the Iridium NEXT program signifies a new
chapter in the Iridium story, one that sees us transforming from a
big cash spender to a big cash generator," said Iridium CEO
Matt Desch. "This is the realization
of a long, successful climb, and reaching the peak, it's gratifying
to know the future of the company is secure, and we have now
financially matured as a satellite operator. Huge thanks are in
order to our entire team, particularly our friends at SpaceX and
our prime satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and their
teams."
First announced in 2010, the Iridium NEXT campaign featured
eight launches with SpaceX. In total, 81 satellites were built by
prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, of which 75 were launched,
with 66 in the operational constellation and nine serving as
on-orbit spares. Thales Alenia Space
was responsible for design and integration of the new satellites,
including launch and early operations testing in partnership with
Iridium's team at the company's Satellite Network Operations Center
in Virginia.
The upgraded Iridium constellation enables never before possible
services such as the AireonSM global aircraft tracking
and surveillance system and Iridium Certus, the company's new
broadband service, which launched commercially in January 2019. The upgraded network is also fully
compatible with the original satellite constellation's services, a
notable accomplishment given the size and scope of the upgrade.
Jean-Loic Galle, CEO of Thales
Alenia Space remarked: "The 75 in-orbit satellites are working very
well, and the overall end-to-end performance improvement for
existing customers is dramatic. Two years after the first launch,
Iridium NEXT, one of the most sophisticated communication systems
in the world, is now totally deployed and fully operational. All
the satellites are interconnected, and we have ensured a continuity
of service without any interruption. We did it! And we did it
together – together with the Iridium team, our customer with whom
we worked all these years much more as a partner than as a
customer, together with Northrop Grumman, with all our
subcontractors, and with SpaceX. I'm convinced this one-team
spirit was the secret of that success story."
The new Iridium Certus 9770 transceiver, also introduced during
today's press conference, is a game changer for satellite IoT,
aviation, maritime and consumer services, enabling low-cost, small
devices that can make more efficient and higher speed connections
than its predecessors. Built on the Iridium Certus technology
platform, applications and devices made with the new transceiver
will feature a range of speeds optimized for efficiently sending
data to and from the user, typically in the range of less than
100kbps. The Iridium Certus 9770 is the first in a series of new
devices that will augment Iridium's existing transceivers with
approximately the same form-factor as existing narrowband antennas
used widely today in aviation, maritime, IoT and land-mobile
markets, but using native IP technology at up to 35 times the speed
as current devices. This supports telemetry, pictures,
high-quality voice calling, emails, internet access and more, at
highly competitive prices. Select licensed manufacturers of Iridium
can expect to receive prototypes of the device around mid-2019.
The Iridium satellite network is comprised of 66 crosslinked
satellites that create a web of coverage around the entire
planet. Unlike other satellite systems, Iridium's crosslinked
architecture enables real-time transit of data to and from any
location on the globe without the need for abundant ground stations
and allows it to maintain consistent, high-quality coverage,
including over the oceans and polar regions.
https://www.iridium.com
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 recently completed its
next-generation satellite network replacement campaign – 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
timing of introduction, capabilities and benefits of new products
and services enabled by the Iridium constellation, including
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 the development and functionality of
Iridium services, 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 September 30, 2018, filed with the SEC on
October 25, 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 (703)
287-7421
|
+1 (703)
287-7570
|
Twitter:
@Iridiumcomm
|
Twitter:
@IridiumIR
|
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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.