Iridium Communications Inc. is the only satellite communications company that offers truly global voice and data communications coverage. A technology innovator and market leader, Iridium, in collaboration with its vast partner network, is advancing the way global enterprises conduct daily mission-critical activities through reliable, low-latencycommunications services.
Iridium's 66 low-Earth orbiting (LEO) cross-linked satellites – the world's largest commercial constellation – operate as a fully meshed network.
Reaching across land, sea, and air, including the polar regions, Iridium® solutions are ideally suited for industries such as maritime, aviation, government/military, emergency/humanitarian services, mining, forestry, oil and gas, heavy equipment, transportation and utilities. Iridium also provides service to subscribers from the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as other civil and government agencies around the world. Iridium sells its products, solutions and services through a network of service providers and value-added dealers.

Milestones
- 1985 The Project was initiated
- May 1997 First five satellites were successfuly launched
- November 1998 Commercial service started i
- September 1999 Iridium services launched in Turkey
- March 2000 Iridium Llc announced bankruptcy
- December 2000 Company was sold to Iridium Satellite LLC (ISLLC)
- March 2001 ISLLC started service
- March 2002 ISLLC turned profitable.
- Company rebranded as Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium operates the world's largest commercial constellation, with a mesh architecture of 66 cross-linked low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites providing inherent performance and dependability advantages over bent pipe geostationary (GEO) configurations.At only 476 miles (780 km) from the Earth, the proximity of Iridium's LEO network means pole-to-pole coverage, a shorter transmission path, stronger signals, lower latency and shorter registration time than with GEO satellites.

Iridium is constantly finding new ways to expand possibilities, including our next-generation constellation, Iridium NEXT. Anticipated to complete deployment in 2018, Iridium NEXT will enable a superior platform to support Iridium's partners and bring enhanced and innovative new services and capabilities to our customers, such as Iridium Certus℠. Expected to be available in 2017, Iridium Certus will enable enterprise-grade satellite broadband communications across a variety of industries, revolutionizing the way businesses operate and communicate... https://www.iridium.com/network/iridiumnext