MCLEAN, Va., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium
Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) today announced Rockwell Collins
(NYSE:COL) as the newest Iridium Certus service provider for the
aviation industry. Rockwell Collins will be adding the
service to its comprehensive suite of aircraft connectivity
applications for commercial, government and
ARINCDirectSM business customers.
In addition to being a service provider, Rockwell Collins is
also a value added manufacturer (VAM) for the design and production
of Iridium Certus terminals. As a VAM and a service
provider, Rockwell Collins will play a critical role in delivering
the next-generation L-band broadband solution to customers around
the world.
"Iridium Certus will be an important new service addition to
meet the connectivity needs of commercial, business and government
aircraft," said Michael DiGeorge,
vice president of Commercial Aviation Services for Rockwell
Collins. "For our ARINCDirect business aviation operators, Iridium
Certus will offer small form factor antennas and terminals which
are ideal for operators of smaller aircraft requiring internet
connectivity. For our airline and government customers, the Iridium
Certus service will enable a variety of capabilities for cockpit
safety, enhanced aircraft reporting, graphical weather, EFBs and
other operational aircraft services."
Iridium Certus will bring broadband functionality, with
enterprise-grade quality of service, to the aviation industry no
matter where in the world an aircraft may fly. The service will
soon deliver the fastest L-band broadband speeds on the market at a
competitive price with industry-leading small form factor antennas
and terminals. The Iridium Certus high-gain antenna (HGA) solutions
will provide data speed options of up to 704 Kbps, and eventually
as high as approximately 1.4 Mbps following full
Iridium® NEXT deployment, with an antenna size of
approximately 24 x 10 x 6cm, while the low-gain antenna (LGA)
solutions will enable data speeds of up to 176
Kbps.
"Adding Rockwell Collins as an Iridium Certus service provider
is a major milestone for the program," said Michael Hooper, director and general manager of
Iridium's Aviation Line of Business. "Given the FAA's recent
movement toward adopting SATCOM as a primary means of onboard
communications, we believe Iridium Certus will be that much more of
a shake up to the status quo within the aviation industry, bringing
new capabilities, smaller hardware, faster speeds and competitive
price packages. Like the services Rockwell Collins offers, Iridium
Certus will support all areas of aircraft connectivity, from the
flight deck to the cabin, regardless of location."
Initial flight trials will take place later this year, with
Iridium Certus commercial service introduction for aviation users
expected in mid-2019. Commercial service introduction for other
verticals, such as maritime and land-mobile, is planned for 2018.
Iridium Certus is powered by Iridium NEXT, the Company's
next-generation satellite constellation, currently being
deployed. To date, there have been six successful Iridium
NEXT launches, deploying 55 new satellites to orbit. Two more
launches are planned for 2018, each carrying 10 Iridium NEXT
satellites, for a total of 75 launched, with 66 in the operational
constellation and nine serving as on-orbit spares. The seventh
launch is currently targeted for July 25,
2018 out of SpaceX's west coast launch site at Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California.
For more information about Iridium Certus, please visit
https://www.iridium.com/company/industryleadership/iridiumcertus
For more information about Rockwell Collins' ARINCDirect, please
visit http://www.arincdirect.com/
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, 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 March 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on
April 26, 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:
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
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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.