Iridium Provides Data Links For Underwater Monitoring Systems Being Deployed By Fastwave For Chevron Offshore Gas Project In Australia

PERTH, Western Australia, and BETHESDA, Md., U.S.A. – November 11, 2009 – Fastwave Communications has received a contract from Chevron Australia Pty Ltd to supply a water quality monitoring system for the Gorgon offshore gas project based on Iridium satellite data links provided by Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM).

The system will provide monitoring of turbidity levels arising from dredging and spoil operations in waters near the gas processing plant location on Barrow Island.

The Fastwave system consists of underwater instrumentation modules positioned on the sea floor around the dredging and spoil disposal sites. Each subsea module contains turbidity sensors, data loggers, an Iridium short-burst data (SBD) modem and rechargeable battery packs. They are connected to small moored buoys which relay the data packets through the Iridium satellites to an environmental monitoring system onshore.

“We designed our underwater monitoring systems to take advantage of Iridium’s global coverage, high network quality and low-latency, two-way SBD links, providing a robust solution capable of working reliably under extreme environmental conditions,” said Nick Daws, Director, Fastwave.

Protection of the marine environment is a key priority for the Gorgon project and this will include a program of water quality monitoring using the Fastwave system. The system has all electronics and instrumentation packages in waterproof, hardened subsea capsules rather than in surface data buoys, providing extra protection from the cyclones that prevail in the region. The modules are designed to function at depths up to 50 meters with endurance of at least four months between battery recharges.

“Iridium’s fast-growing machine-to-machine (M2M) data business is being driven largely by the innovative and creative solutions being developed by our Value-Added Partners such as Fastwave,” said Patrick Shay, vice president of Iridium’s data division. “Iridium offers a unique value proposition for remote M2M asset monitoring and tracking, providing reliable, low-latency data communications anywhere in the world, on land, in the air, on the sea and even under the sea.”

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium Communications Inc. (www.iridium.com) is the only mobile satellite service (MSS) company offering coverage over the entire globe. The Iridium constellation of low-earth orbiting (LEO) cross-linked satellites provides critical voice and data services for areas not served by terrestrial communication networks.  Iridium serves commercial markets through a worldwide network of hundreds of distributors and provides services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and other U.S. and international government agencies. The company’s customers represent a broad spectrum of industry, including maritime, aeronautical, government/defense, public safety, utilities, oil/gas, mining, forestry, heavy equipment and transportation. Iridium has launched a major development program for its next-generation satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT.  The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., U.S.A. and trades on NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbols IRDM (common stock), IRDMW ($7.00 warrants), IRDMZ ($11.50 warrants) and IRDMU (units).

About Fastwave Communications

Established in 2001, Fastwave Communications (www.fastwave.com.au) is an Australian company specializing in the development of remote monitoring, control and tracking solutions for organizations with personnel, assets and equipment located in remote parts of the world. Fastwave won three Australian national industry safety awards in 2008 for its innovative remote vehicle speed and safety monitoring system.

Press Release Contacts:

Liz DeCastro
Iridium Communications Inc.
+1 (301) 571-6257
liz.decastro@iridium.com

Jim Rhodes
Rhodes Communications
+1 (757) 451-0602
jrhodes@rhodescomm.com

Nick Dawes
Fastwave Communications
+61 (6) 9486-4256
nick@fastwave.com.au