Iridium
Announces
Comprehensive
Plan
For
Next-Generation
Constellation
June
2,
2010
Iridium
Communications
Inc.
announced
its
comprehensive
plan
for
funding,
building
and
deploying
its
next-generation
satellite
constellation,
Iridium
NEXT.
Specifically,
the
Company
announced
the
execution
of a
fixed
price
contract
with
Thales
Alenia
Space,
a
joint
company
between
Thales
(67%)
and
Finmeccanica
(33%),
for
the
design
and
construction
of
satellites
for
the
Iridium
NEXT
constellation.
In
addition,
the
Company
announced
that
Coface,
the
French
export
credit
agency,
has
issued,
for
the
account
of
the
French
State,
a
“Promise
of
Guarantee”
which
commits
to
cover
95%
of
the
$1.8
billion
credit
facility
for
the
project.
The
financing
to
be
covered
by
the
Coface
guarantee
is
being
syndicated
through
French
and
other
major
international
banks
and
financial
institutions,
and
is
expected
to
be
completed
this
summer.
The
Coface
guarantee
commitment
is
not
conditioned
on
Iridium
raising
any
further
debt
or
equity
financing.
Goldman,
Sachs
&
Co.,
Société
Générale
and
Hawkpoint
Partners
Limited
continue
to
advise
the
Company
in
connection
with
the
financing.
Iridium’s
fixed
price
contract
with
Thales
Alenia
Space
provides
for
the
construction
of
the
originally
planned
72
operational
satellites
and
in-orbit
spares,
plus
an
additional
nine
ground
spares,
which
provide
greater
risk
mitigation
with
respect
to
the
new
constellation.
As a
result
of
the
expanded
scope
of
the
project,
the
total
cost
of
Iridium
NEXT,
including
all
costs
associated
with
development,
manufacture
and
launch
of
the
constellation,
is
now
anticipated
to
be
approximately
$2.9
billion.
In
addition,
Iridium
has
entered
into
an
Authorization
to
Proceed
(ATP),
which
allows
Thales
Alenia
Space
to
commence
work
immediately
on
the
development
of
satellites
prior
to
completion
of
the
financing,
with
the
plan
to
commence
the
launch
of
the
first
satellites
during
the
first
quarter
of
2015.
“Our
announcement
today
exceeds
our
earlier
expectations
in
every
way,”
said
Matt
Desch,
CEO
of
Iridium.
“We
are
very
pleased
with
the
completion
of
our
comprehensive
vendor
selection
process.
We
have
a
great
partner
in
Thales
Alenia
Space,
a
world
leader
in
satellite
systems,
who
has
developed
a
sophisticated
satellite
constellation
that
will
allow
us
to
seamlessly
transition
to
an
even
more
powerful
network
in
the
future.
In
addition,
the
Coface
guarantee
enables
Iridium
to
secure
attractive
and
flexible
low
cost
financing
for
the
project.
Based
on
the
amount
of
this
guarantee,
we
expect
Iridium
NEXT
to
be
fully
funded
when
the
financing
is
finalized
this
summer.
This
is a
critical
step
in
maintaining
our
customers’
and
partners’
confidence
that
Iridium
will
keep
delivering
innovative
products
and
services
globally
through
the
coming
decades.”
“We
are
excited
to
be
Iridium’s
lead
supplier
in
the
design
and
build-out
of
the
Iridium
NEXT
constellation,”
said
Reynald
Seznec,
CEO
of
Thales
Alenia
Space.
“With
our
satellite
design,
Iridium
will
have
a
flexible
platform
for
the
delivery
of
existing
and
new
services.
As
the
prime
contractor
for
Iridium
NEXT,
Thales
Alenia
Space
is
the
undisputed
leader
in
the
design
and
manufacture
of
commercial
low-earth
orbiting
(LEO)
satellite
communications
systems.
We
will
be
supported
by a
broad
consortium
of
world-class
technical
partners
with
extensive
expertise
in
supporting
critical
missions
of
this
scale
and
nature,
and
we
expect
40
percent
of
the
work
for
Iridium
NEXT
to
be
subcontracted
to
North
America
companies.”
In
conclusion,
Desch
noted,
“Today
marks
a
great
milestone
in
Iridium’s
history.
We
operate
the
world’s
only
communications
system
that
truly
works
everywhere
in
the
world,
with
more
than
359,000
subscribers.
By
entering
into
the
ATP
to
immediately
begin
building
a
complete
next-generation
satellite
system,
and
by
securing
export
credit
agency
support
of
an
amount
sufficient
to
enable
us
to
fully
fund
the
project,
we
have
completed
critical
steps
in
laying
a
strong
foundation
for
Iridium’s
future.
Going
forward
we
can
focus
all
our
energies
on
continuing
to
add
new
subscribers
and
working
with
our
partners
to
deliver
new
products
to
serve
our
diverse
subscriber
base.”
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