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.
