Iridium Continues to Attract World Class Maritime Service Providers for Iridium Certus(SM)

MCLEAN, Va., June 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that seven additional service providers have signed agreements to provide the Iridium Certus service for maritime applications. Globecomm, Network Innovations, Pivotel, MVS USA, IEC-Telecom, MetOcean and Samsan Enterprise Company now further broaden the base of Iridium's distribution for its next-generation L-band broadband service.  These seven companies will play a critical role in delivering what will be the fastest and most competitive L-band satellite broadband solution to the maritime industry, enabling a truly global "connected ship" environment. This announcement comes shortly after Iridium became the second-ever recognized service provider for the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS), ending a decades long industry monopoly and continuing the company's maritime vertical momentum.  Iridium is now working to introduce GMDSS service as soon as possible.

Iridium Certus service providers are representative of the global nature of Iridium's network and its partner ecosystem.  In an industry that has lacked variety in available communications offerings, Iridium Certus will provide a new, complete satellite communications solution that is high quality and competitively priced. Operating over Iridium's next-generation, global low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network called Iridium^® NEXT, Iridium Certus will be the only satellite broadband solution that can provide reliable connectivity anywhere in the world.

"The addition of this group of world class service providers is a major milestone for the Iridium Certus program," said Wouter Deknopper, vice president and general manager of maritime at Iridium. "These partnerships are a testament to the need for choice in this industry, especially one that meets the needs of every vessel, regardless of location, size and budget. Supporting the global, digital and mobile needs of mariners is at the core of our mission, and it would not be possible without our worldwide partner network and service providers."

Iridium Certus is currently undergoing live testing on state-of-the-art, small-form-factor terminals, built by Thales and Cobham. The VesseLINK^™ by Thales and SAILOR 4300 by Cobham terminals are testing well and delivering positive results, validating network performance expectations, including achievement of 352 Kbps data speeds and high quality voice calling. Initial service offering speeds will debut at 352 Kbps and will later be upgradable to 704 Kbps with a firmware upgrade.  Iridium Certus will not only support multiple speed classes and capabilities, but will also provide safety services and a range of streaming options.  Once commercially available, the Iridium Certus service will play a key role for maritime communications, as it will support a variety of connectivity requirements, while also being able to withstand the harsh conditions of remote operations.  

Iridium Certus is planned for commercial availability in 2018. 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. To date, there have been six successful Iridium NEXT launches, deploying 55 new satellites. Two additional launches are planned for 2018 to complete the constellation of 75 new satellites, of which 66 will be in the active constellation, with nine on-orbit spares.

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, 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.

SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.

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