IRIDIUM’S UPGRADED CONSTELLATION is made up of 66 active satellites, with an additional 14 in-orbit spares.

First announced in 2007 and completed in 2019, the constellation is arranged in six polar orbital planes of 11 satellites each, ensuring full global coverage. This mesh-network uses Ka-band links to cross-link satellites, allowing them to route communications directly without the need for ground infrastructure.

However, Iridium was close to ceasing operations in the early 2000s. In 2002, just days before the company was due to de-orbit its satellites and shut down its network permanently, it was saved by a group of investors with a freshly signed US government service contract.

The company had been a victim of the fast-paced development of mobile phone technology. Born out of Motorola’s Strategic Electronics Division, Iridium was designed to use satellite technology as an alternative to cellular devices, which, at the time, were bulky and expensive. Over the next decade, more than 90 satellites were built and launched to create the first global satellite network.

But in the 10 years it had taken to build, finance and launch the network, cell phone technology greatly expanded, making it much less expensive and more convenient for consumers. In turn, this made it difficult for Iridium to continue under its previous business model, and, in 1999, it declared bankruptcy.

In August 2000, Motorola announced its plan to permanently shut down the Iridium network. Then, just days before the scheduled date in 2002, a small group of investors with US government service contract came to the rescue. The new Iridium, or “Iridium 2.0” as it is known to some, rapidly expanded to other markets as well. By the mid-2000s, the first-generation satellites, originally launched in the late 1990s, had far surpassed their expected five-to-seven-year lifespan.

Iridium then announced plans for Iridium Next, the 66-strong constellation it operates today for more than 2.5m global users.

The company is working on Project Stardust, the latest iteration of its direct-to-device (D2D) strategy with 3GPP 5G standards-based Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) service development.

With tests ongoing, Iridium plans to deploy the solution within its existing satellite network enabling it to offer both high-quality proprietary and standardised D2D and IoT services to its customers.

Iridium CEO Matt Desch said: “The industry is moving quickly towards a more standards-based approach, and after surveying the field, we found that we’re the best positioned to lead the way using our own network, particularly given our true global coverage.”

Service is expected to begin in 2026.