MCLEAN, Va., March 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) today announced an agreement with CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) (MI:CNHI) to use Iridium® M2M services for its construction brands telematics solutions: CASE's SiteWatch and New Holland Construction's FleetForce. The deal provides global satellite connectivity for Case and New Holland Construction customers in the construction market, enabling them to optimize deployment and productivity with near real-time fleet and asset monitoring and management.

CASE's SiteWatch and New Holland Construction's FleetForce telematics solutions enable construction users to monitor the location and performance of their assets, enhance security by creating geofences and alerts, reduce maintenance costs by monitoring fleet health, and optimize running costs by monitoring and analyzing fuel consumption. Using Iridium will allow these users to transcend the boundaries of cellular coverage and communicate with their construction equipment -- no matter where on Earth it is located. As construction output is expected to grow by more than 70 percent by 2025 in emerging markets, the need for ubiquitous connections to construction equipment is increasingly necessary.i

"CNH Industrial and its brands CASE Construction Equipment and New Holland Construction have a long history of developing technologically innovative solutions, and we're proud that they've selected Iridium to support this latest innovation in their telematics offerings," said Bryan Hartin, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Iridium. "Our network is the only provider of highly reliable global coverage, and we are committed to providing two-way, low-cost, small form factors that easily integrate into existing telematics solutions and are well suited to construction equipment. This agreement reflects the latest milestone in our accelerating penetration into the heavy equipment industry."

"After an extensive review and test period with several satellite providers, we found Iridium's M2M solutions to be the best fit for our larger vision of helping our construction customers to be more connected, productive and efficient," said Antonio Marzia, Vice President, Precision Solutions & Telematics Operations, CNH Industrial. "As our customers expand their operations into increasingly remote areas of the world, being connected to their fleets is as important as ever. The Iridium network's uniquely broad coverage, low latency and high quality will now be a vital part of our OEM telematics services, especially as they're deployed in new regions."

The Iridium M2M offering is powered by Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD), including Iridium's latest chipset technology, which ensures efficient and effective transmission of critical information about fleets and assets. Iridium's M2M business serves the mission-critical enterprise communication needs for global OEMs in addition to after-market solution providers of fleet and vehicle tracking, heavy equipment, container and mobile asset tracking across the transportation, utility, oil and gas, maritime and aviation markets. Iridium now draws about one-quarter of its commercial service revenue from the satellite M2M market.

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.

About CNH Industrial N.V.

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) (MI:CNHI) is a global leader in the capital goods sector with established industrial experience, a wide range of products and a worldwide presence. Each of the individual brands belonging to the Company is a major international force in its specific industrial sector: Case IH, New Holland Agriculture and Steyr for tractors and agricultural machinery; Case and New Holland Construction for earth moving equipment; Iveco for commercial vehicles; Iveco Bus and Heuliez Bus for buses and coaches; Iveco Astra for quarry and construction vehicles; Magirus for firefighting vehicles; Iveco Defence Vehicles for defence and civil protection; and FPT Industrial for engines and transmissions. More information can be found on the corporate website: www.cnhindustrial.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 development and capabilities of the Iridium NEXT constellation, including the expected Iridium NEXT deployment and launch schedule, the performance of the Company's products, services and network, and the Company's growth in the heavy equipment market. 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 Iridium NEXT development and functionality, potential delays in Iridium NEXT deployment, and the company's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its current 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-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC") on May 1, 2014, 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.

i "Global Construction," Oxford Economics. http://www.globalconstruction2025.com/ Jan 9, 2015.

CONTACT: Press Contact:

         

         Diane Hockenberry

         Iridium Communications Inc.

         +1 (703) 287-7421

         Diane.hockenberry@iridium.com