Iridium Communications Inc. announced yesterday that KDDI Corporation, Navarino and NSSLGroup 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 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.