MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) today announced the first Iridium Certus service providers for land-mobile applications, planned for commercial availability in mid-2018.  This initial group of six world-class land-mobile service providers play a pivotal role in bringing Iridium Certus to market. Enabled by the Iridium^® NEXT satellite constellation, Iridium Certus will deliver reliable, global broadband connectivity and high-quality voice service to the land-mobile industry.

The initial Iridium Certus service providers for land mobile applications include:

• Applied Satellite Technology Limited (AST) - www.theastgroup.com
• Arion Communication Co. Ltd - www.arionit.com
• Kaigai Communication Corporation - www.kaigaibussan.jp
• MVS USA Inc. - www.themvsgroup.com
• Network Innovations US Inc. - www.networkinv.com
• Spacenet - www.spacenet.com.mx

Iridium Certus will extend the reach of terrestrial and cellular infrastructure like never before with truly mobile communications capabilities, making it ideal for supporting critical connectivity needs regardless of location, terrain and weather events. The service will feature a range of data speed options and will integrate with the robustly designed Thales MissionLINK^TM terminal, providing a reliable connection for voice, satellite internet, cellular data, Land Mobile Radio (LMR) and location-based applications. With Iridium Certus, customers will be able to control costs by eliminating the need to deploy expensive ground-based infrastructure or large, expensive directional terminals that rely upon geostationary satellites.

“Iridium Certus is going to change the way we think about connectivity for enterprise, government, and militaries on the move,” said Josh Miner, executive director, land-mobile line of business at Iridium. “Regardless of location, customers will have access to reliable satellite connectivity to run more efficient operations while deployed in the field.” Miner continued, “This flexible solution, when combined with the Thales MissionLINK satellite terminal, allows customers to automatically transition between satellite and cellular infrastructure when paired with an LTE terminal. Customers can configure their Thales satellite terminals to automatically switch to Iridium Certus satellite service when required, ensuring that the most cost-effective solution is deployed, while maintaining continuity.”  

Additional land-mobile service providers are planned to be announced in the coming months. Iridium NEXT is the Company’s next-generation satellite constellation which will replace its existing network.  To date, there have been four successful Iridium NEXT launches, deploying more than half of the new constellation. Four additional launches are planned for the first half of 2018.

For more information about Iridium Certus, please visit https://www.iridium.com/company/industryleadership/iridiumcertus .

For more information about Iridium NEXT, please visit www.IridiumNEXT.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 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 presentation include statements regarding the deployment and capabilities of the Iridium NEXT constellation and products and services to be offered over the constellation, including Iridium Certus, as well as the potential market for such products and services. 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, 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, 2016, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 23, 2017, 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:

Jordan Hassin
Iridium Communications Inc.
+1 (646) 872-0067
Jordan.Hassin@iridium.com
Twitter: @IridiumComm 

Investor Contact:

Kenneth Levy
Iridium Communications Inc.
+1 (703) 287-7570
Ken.Levy@iridium.com
Twitter: @IridiumIR