"Iridium added approximately 10,500 subscribers in the third quarter of 2005," said Carmen Lloyd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iridium Satellite. "Increased usage by first responders engaged in relief efforts in the U.S. Gulf Region in September contributed to our strongest quarter for subscriber growth and equipment sales."

Lloyd said, "Since our network does not rely on land-based infrastructure, Iridium was able to operate during the hurricanes when flooding and winds disabled conventional telephone and cellular systems, as well as radio systems, in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. We are pleased to have played a key role for first responders during this crisis."

Third Quarter 2005 Highlights

As previously announced, in the first 72 hours of Hurricane Katrina, Iridium traffic in the Gulf Region increased more than 3,000%, while the number of subscribers in the affected areas increased more than 500%. To help meet this increased demand, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted Iridium the use of additional spectrum to accommodate network traffic and minimize the risk of congestion.

Iridium also moved to an around-the-clock "24x7" manufacturing schedule to accommodate the surge in need for mobile satellite communications services.

During the quarter, Iridium and its partners shipped more than 13,300 voice and data units. This reflects some portion of the new activations in the third quarter, as well as units purchased for future activation.

The company also cited the following developments in its key vertical markets in the third quarter of 2005:

Defense/Government

In September, Iridium announced that the U.S. Air Force is completing the worldwide deployment of more than 280 tactical meteorological data collection systems. These systems will use the Iridium network to transmit near-real- time weather data to war planners and decision makers.

With an embedded Iridium data modem, these new systems represent an important improvement over legacy tactical weather systems. In the past, combat weather teams could need up to 72 hours to establish a deployed weather network. The Iridium-based systems allow the teams to start transmitting weather data from any location on the globe within an hour of arrival.

Aviation

In July, Iridium announced that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) fitted 200 primarily contract aircraft with Iridium equipment for data and voice communications between the aircraft and the ground.

Part of the interagency Automated Flight-Following (AFF) program, the aircraft are mainly helicopters, and light and transport fixed-wing airtankers. They are used for wildland fire fighting and other natural resource agency missions.

Iridium noted that its aviation business has more than doubled over the last 12 months. The number of aircraft fitted with Iridium voice and data equipment has grown by more than 100%, while the number of aircraft with Iridium-based, data-only systems has increased 200%. The company's total number of subscribers in the aviation market now surpasses 5,000.

Maritime

In August, Iridium announced that ZOCA Container Security BV, based in The Netherlands, has developed an innovative locking system for shipping containers that can be integrated with the Iridium network.

The ZOCA system consists of a strong mechanical tamper-proof lock that can only be operated with a ZOCA handheld mobile device. By integrating this new system with Iridium's satellite data links, the containers' locking devices can be controlled remotely.

New uses such as these have led to strong growth recently for Iridium in the shipping industry. In fact, Iridium's number of maritime subscribers is up 30% since the beginning of 2005, reflecting the use of data services, in particular.

"While 75% of Iridium's satellite traffic is currently voice communications, maritime data traffic has increased by 60% through the first nine months of 2005," said Lloyd. "That is twice the rate of growth for voice."

Lloyd concluded, "We are now 20% above our year-end 2004 subscriber total and, thanks to a particularly strong third quarter, ahead of our expectations for new activations in the first nine months of 2005. Iridium is also on a solid financial footing with the third quarter of 2005, marking our third consecutive profitable quarter."

Related Links
Iridium
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only