Iridium Accelerates Direct-To-Device Service With Acceptance Into 3GPP Standards Announces Iridium NTN Directsm

In January 2024, Iridium announced Project Stardust to enable NB-IoT NTN standards-based communication through its operational LEO constellation – and has since made considerable progress at a rapid pace. Iridium NTN Direct technical development is well underway, with a successful demonstration having taken place earlier this year in a lab environment. Iridium has also joined GSMA, and is continuing to advance development with additional trials and demonstrations scheduled for early next year.

"We're already well into our technology development, and we're excited about our progress and to see so much enthusiasm from the 3GPP community," said Greg Pelton, CTO, Iridium. "As a cloud-based service powered by the flexibility of our software-defined satellites and building upon recognized industry standards, we've been able to jump off to a super-fast start. Our team is really motivated to make this happen."

Iridium NTN Direct will offer the opportunity for smartphone companies, OEMs, chipmakers, mobile network operators (MNO) and related IoT developers who utilize 3GPP standards-based technology to leverage Iridium's existing network and globally allocated and coordinated spectrum, providing a global, low-latency LEO user experience.

"When it comes to providing D2D, we don't have to be first, but we have to be the best. Iridium NTN Direct is an important initiative for us, and we've been able to pivot on an unprecedented scale and make significant progress toward providing the best service," said
Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "We're grateful for the wide industry support of our vision to expand access to Iridium's global lifeline service by enabling it for anyone with a cellular device."

The Iridium satellite constellation's crosslinked, LEO architecture and global L-band spectrum provide a service advantage versus other LEO and geostationary satellite networks. Certified to provide safety of life services by international regulatory bodies, the Iridium network is known for its reliability and continues to be the only network that provides connectivity everywhere on Earth. Operating in LEO, the Iridium constellation does not suffer from the same line-of-sight limitations, significant power requirements or outages that can affect entire regions from a single satellite as faced by geostationary systems.

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For more information about Iridium NTN Direct, visit: /ntn-direct

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.
In 2024, Iridium acquired Satelles and announced the Iridium Satellite Time and Location service. 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 .

Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

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 press release include statements regarding 3GPP Release 19 and the capabilities, benefits and timing of the proposed Iridium NTN Direct service. 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, whether the final 3GPP Release 19 includes NB-IoT NTN specifications compatible with the Iridium network, the timing of 3GPP Release 19, the successful technical development of Iridium NTN Direct, the adoption of Iridium NTN Direct by the market and uncertainties regarding 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, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 15, 2024, and the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on July 23, 2024, 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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