Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid uses an Iridium Connected® terminal to conduct official state business using Iridium Certus® from Antarctica.
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The story of Iridium is not just the story of one company, but of many companies, organizations, and people around the world.
What began as a single partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense grew rapidly to become a full-fledged ecosystem now with more than 450 industry-leading technology partners in markets including maritime, aviation, land mobile, internet of things (IoT), and government services.
The Iridium® ecosystem allows the company to continue growing and evolving to meet the needs of customers all over the world while facilitating innovation and opportunity, and allowing the industry leaders to leverage the global Iridium network in their respective fields.
While still developing several products, Iridium shifted to a wholesale business model, allowing collaborators and partners to evolve and expand their business with Iridium instead of competing against them. The Iridium ecosystem encourages innovation by providing a platform for advancing technology, allowing partners to use their specialized knowledge to develop optimized solutions for end-users. This enables a wide variety of applications and products that utilize the Iridium constellation to solve world issues, enhance business efficiencies, and keep people connected across the globe.
Hundreds of Iridium partners use the Iridium network to create innovative solutions.
Back from the Brink
After Iridium Satellite LLC signed its first contract with the U.S. Department of Defense post-bankruptcy, more organizations started to join. Iridium’s ecosystem began with the help of 13 innovative companies that became Iridium’s first service providers. These partners saw that the Iridium network could solve real problems within their industries and began to utilize the network in ways never previously imagined.
“In selecting our service providers, we looked for established companies that understand how Iridium can be sold as part of an overall satellite communications solution for industrial and government markets,” said Dan Colussy, then-chairman and CEO of Iridium. “The robust and experienced distribution channel we assembled is a pivotal component of our rollout plan and will be a contributing factor to Iridium’s success and profitability.”
Iridium's First 13 Resellers
Click each logo to learn more about the company and its relationship with Iridium.
Iridium NEXT Mission Team
The organizations that came together to form the Iridium NEXT Mission Team allowed Iridium to successfully complete the largest technological refresh in space history. The Iridium NEXT constellation upgrade unlocked the ability for 450+ Iridium technology partners to supercharge their innovative solutions for end-users all around the world. This revolutionary program would not have been possible without the hard work and ingenuity of Iridium’s partners.
World satellite systems leader Thales Alenia Space (TAS) – a joint venture between Thales (67 percent) and Leonardo (33 percent) – served as the prime contractor for Iridium NEXT. TAS was responsible for engineering, production, procurement and integration operations, along with the ground and in-orbit testing of the constellation’s overall performance. The satellites’ design was refined and tested on two initial models at French TAS plants in Toulouse and Cannes. Volume production took place at a subcontractor’s premises, the Northrop Grumman Corporation facility in Gilbert, Arizona.
Leading space technology company Northrop Grumman was responsible for the production of the Iridium NEXT satellites, including the assembly, integration, test and launch support phases.
American aerospace manufacturer and space transporter SpaceX was the exclusive launch provider for the first eight Iridium NEXT launches., using the Falcon 9 to deploy Iridium’s next-generation satellites into Low-Earth Orbit. When Iridium and SpaceX signed a $492 million contract in 2010, it was the largest single commercial launch deal ever signed, initiating a new industry standard for cost-effective satellite delivery to space.
Beyond these core partners, the Iridium NEXT program brought together the best and brightest minds in aerospace and telecommunications for a global collaborative effort. The specialized knowledge that Iridium partners have in their respective fields, paired with the new and improved Iridium network allowed partners to begin creating enhanced solutions to better serve their markets.
Iridium Certus: A Platform for Partner Innovation
Iridium Certus Launch Partners
Iridium team members discuss the role of partners in the making of Iridium Certus in a roundtable discussion.
The Iridium Certus™ 9810 was the first transceiver developed by Iridium to enable Iridium Certus broadband and narrowband data services. Iridium developed an “Iridium Connected®” strategy for the deployment of Iridium Certus services, meaning all equipment was manufactured by select partners using Iridium core technology inside.
At the time of service launch, there were six Iridium Certus Value Added Manufacturers (VAMs) that were selected through a competitive process including more than 30 candidates. These companies, who invested millions of dollars and years of time into product research and development, were selected based on their commitments to innovation, technical capabilities, market reach, and investment. Their involvement was critical to the launch of Iridium Certus.
The Iridium Certus 9810 broadband core transceiver was first delivered to select VAMs in 2015 to begin building terminal prototypes in advance of the completion of the Iridium NEXT network upgrade. This was the sole Iridium Certus transceiver available at the time of commercial service launch, supporting initial L-Band speeds up to 352 Kbps that later expanded to speeds of up to 704 Kbps through a firmware upgrade.
Just one month after the commercial launch of Iridium Certus broadband services, Iridium announced the Iridium Certus 9770 transceiver. This core technology was designed to support what the company coined “midband” speeds (ranging from 22 – 128 Kbps). By August 2019, Iridium had also announced the introduction of 10 key, cross-industry beta partners for the Iridium Ceruts 9770 who had been selected to begin developing new products based on the small and mobile device. T The new transceiver allowed these partners to expand the reach of satellite services to new markets, including autonomous or remotely-piloted drones, IoT devices, personal communicators and more.
February 26, 2015 – Cobham joined the Iridium partner ecosystem as one of the first three VAMs selected to develop the Iridium Certus 9810 solutions. As a leader in the maritime industry, Cobham innovators promised to optimize Iridium Certus offerings by introducing significant cost reductions and flexible antenna placement for their Iridium Certus terminals. The first Iridium Certus product delivered by Cobham was the SAILOR 4300 L-Band terminal which provided a highly-reliable link to the Iridium network and provided a cost-competitive solution for fast, reliable, global connectivity.
February 26, 2015 – Focusing on aerospace and national security solutions, L3 Communications was selected as an Iridium Certus 9810 VAM because of their leading position as a provider of a broad range of communication and electronic systems. The addition of the Iridium Certus platform allowed for L3’s continued innovation in the communications field, as well as increased development of products used for military and commercial aviation platforms.
February 26, 2015 – As an Iridium Certus 9810 VAM, Collins Aerospace committed to breaking barriers in the aviation industry and bringing new capabilities, smaller hardware, and faster speeds to aircraft operation. Specifically, Collins Aerospace committed to offering a variety of capabilities and terminals ideal for small aircraft, as well as providing enhanced abilities for cockpit safety, enhanced aircraft reporting, graphical weather, electronic flight bags (EFBs), and other operational aircraft services. In 2018, Iridium announced that Collins Aerospace expanded its role in the Iridium partner ecosystem to be an Iridium Certus service provider as well, adding the service to its comprehensive suite of aircraft connectivity applications for commercial, government, and ARINCDirectSM business customers.
March 11, 2015 – Thales was selected as an Iridium Certus 9810 VAM to design and manufacture products that would deliver versatile, reliable, enterprise-grade communications anywhere in the world. As a global technology leader in aerospace, defense, security, space, and transportation, Thales was selected because of its innovative solutions for critical systems and services meeting the most complex requirements for every operating environment. The Thales Group’s joint-venture, Thales Alenia Space, was the prime contractor for developing and building the Space Segment of the second-generation Iridium constellation.
April 24, 2018 – A recognized leader in the aviation industry and long-time Iridium partner, Gogo became an Iridium Certus 9810 VAM in early 2018. Gogo Business Aviation connectivity platforms and services were found on virtually every size and type of business aircraft flying globally, with thousands of business aircraft flying with Iridium Connected communications systems. Gogo first began selling Iridium products and services in 2002, and introduced its Axxess system – which operated on the Iridium network – in 2005. Gogo’s Iridium Certus terminal promised to bring broadband functionality, with enterprise-grade quality of service, to the aviation industry, enabling a variety of capabilities for cockpit safety and electronic flight bag (EFB) services as well as cabin business applications. Gogo was also selected as an Iridium Certus service provider, making it the first company approved to design and manufacture Iridium Certus terminals, as well as provide L-Band services on the Iridium Certus platform.
September 11, 2018 – A leader in aviation solutions, Satcom Direct (SD) was the last partner to become an Iridium Certus 9810 VAM prior to commercial service launch in early 2019. SD, which was also approved as a service provider for Iridium Certus aviation products, was selected because of its leading role in the business aviation community and global recognition for connectivity and avionics solutions. SD committed to integrating its Iridium Certus solutions with existing SD hardware and software to provide features like real-time data analytics, cybersecurity, and account management. This partnership built on an existing agreement between Iridium and COMSAT, an SD company, in which Iridium named COMSAT as an Iridium Certus service provider for the U.S. Department of Defense earlier that year.
Iridium Certus Service Providers
From the conception of Iridium Certus, Iridium worked with market leaders to bring the award-winning service platform to end-users. Iridium Certus service providers were instrumental in the final development phases of Iridium Certus. Today, Iridium Certus service providers continue to deliver high-value connectivity using the broadband capabilities of Iridium Certus across industries, including maritime, land mobile, aviation, IoT, and the U.S. Government.
What's Next for Iridium Partners?
Iridium continues to work with value-added partners to innovate, pushing the limits of existing technologies and developing new products to solve the problems of today and tomorrow.
Iridium's First 13 Resellers
AST Group
A global provider of end-to-end satellite communications solutions, AST focused on providing reliable satellite communication services to their customers. Their products were focused on the maritime and land mobile markets.
Eurocom Industries A/S
Focusing on the maritime industry, Eurocom Industries A/S provided telecommunication electronics for various maritime vessels.
Fibertel
Headquartered in Madrid, Fibertel provided mobile and satellite services to the surrounding areas in Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and Northern Africa.
GEOLINK Global Satellite Services
GEOLINK provided satellite communication systems worldwide and operated mostly within the maritime and land mobile industries.
Global Satellite FWI
Global Satellite FWI focused on the maritime and land mobile markets, as well as military applications of satellite communications.
GloCall Satellite Communications BV
With applications within the land mobile industry, this Netherlands-based company was one of the largest independent service providers in satellite communications.
Incomserv Co. Ltd.
Based in Russia, Incomserv specialized in high-tech marine products. A previous Iridium Eurasia service provider, Incomserv continued to provide satellite communications solutions to the marine and heavy industry markets in Russia.
Infosat Telecommunications
Operating in multiple industries, this Canadian company provided satellite services throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Marconi Marine
Based in the United Kingdom, this communications company worked on solutions within the maritime industry on satellite and terrestrial-based communications for ships.
O’Gara Satellite Networks Ltd.
With a wide variety of satellite communications products and services, O’Gara Satellite Networks served a variety of locations in the area surrounding their headquarters in the United Kingdom.
Rent Express
Toronto-based Rent Express provided international wireless phone services for North Americans traveling internationally and supplied services to many major wireless carriers and travel partners.
Stratos
Based in Toronto, Stratos vertically integrated satellite and microwave services and serviced many areas around the world.
World Communication Center (WCC)
WCC, based in Chandler, Arizona, focused on providing rental equipment for those who needed satellite communications in remote areas.
