Sep 7, 2011

Iridium Communications Inc. /quotes/zigman/114579/quotes/nls/irdmannounced its vision for the future of personal mobile satellite communications, Iridium Force(TM). This vision uses the power of the world's furthest reaching network to accelerate the development of enhanced personal communication capabilities for people and organizations everywhere. Iridium Force breaks the mold of traditional satellite industry go-to-market strategies by making Iridium technology more accessible and cost-effective for partners to develop a wider range of Iridium-based products and services. This new vision opens the licensing of core Iridium technologies as well as the company's most fundamental offering -- global connectivity.

"Iridium pioneered the satellite phone industry more than 10 years ago with the first handheld, commercial satellite phone," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "With Iridium Force, we are leading an industry transformation once again by significantly extending the universe of handheld connectivity options. Iridium Force is our strategic vision for rapidly connecting more people in ways never thought possible -- even going beyond the limits of our own devices. Iridium Force is more than the launch of a new satellite phone; it signifies our commitment to enable powerful new capabilities including those devices that are already in customers' hands to work on the Iridium network -- today and in the future."

"A satellite-based hotspot and product suite will empower today's enterprise and consumer users, who demand ubiquitous connectivity on devices they are familiar with," said Yankee Group Analyst John Keough. "For multinational organizations, such a suite provides a simple global alternative to navigating the complex roaming agreements currently found on terrestrial networks."