MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) announced today that KDDI Corporation, Navarino and NSSLGlobal Ltd., are the newest Iridium Certus service providers for the maritime industry.  Critical to the enablement of the digitalization of shipping, Iridium Certus will offer a superior L-band satellite broadband connectivity solution, making its service providers invaluable in delivering it to their customers around the world.

With higher speeds, state-of-the-art small form factor terminals and competitive pricing options, Iridium Certus will offer a complete communications platform for all mariners and can serve as a primary service or VSAT companion solution. Together, each Iridium Certus service provider brings its own unique set of value-added qualities to the program.

For instance, as one of the largest connectivity and technology solutions providers in the maritime industry, Navarino brings its expertise and global reach to the Iridium Certus program.  This includes a focus on offering both standardized services and comprehensive and customized maritime connectivity solutions. 

With a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, KDDI Corporation will help deliver Iridium Certus to APAC mariners, in additional to its other customers around the world. 

Award-winning global SATCOM provider NSSLGlobal Ltd., has added Iridium Certus to its extensive portfolio of maritime solutions where the Iridium Certus service will act as a primary L-Band service and a companion to NSSLGlobal's VSAT IP@SEA service. The combination of the Iridium NEXT network and the NSSLGlobal's fully-owned global VSAT network continues to enable NSSLGlobal to offer its customers truly world-class coverage and services.

"Every service provider is crucial to the success of Iridium Certus," said Wouter Deknopper, vice president and general manager, Maritime Line of Business at Iridium. "The addition of these three service providers not only ensures a smooth upcoming launch for Iridium Certus but also further validates the interest and broad demand for Iridium Certus in the marketplace".

Commercial service availability for Iridium Certus is planned for 2018. Iridium Certus will be introduced to the market in a series of speed classes. Initial service offering speeds will debut at 352 Kbps and will later be upgradable to 704 Kbps through a firmware upgrade.  The service will also support safety services and a range of streaming options. 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 seven successful Iridium^® NEXT launches, deploying 65 new satellites.  One launch remains before completion of the company's historic constellation refresh.

Iridium will be exhibiting at the SMM Maritime trade fair, September 4th to 7th in Hamburg, Germany. Visit us in Hall B6 booth #244.

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 press release include statements regarding the deployment of the Iridium NEXT constellation and launch and performance of the Iridium Certus 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, uncertainties regarding potential delays in the Iridium NEXT deployment, the development and functionality of Iridium NEXT and the Iridium Certus service, 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 June 30, 2018, filed with the SEC on July 31, 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.