Iridium and Thales Expand Partnership to Deliver Aircraft Connectivity Services

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) today announced Thales as the newest Iridium Certus aviation service provider. While already developing the Iridium Certus-based FlytLINK terminal and antenna, Thales will now be able to offer both Iridium Certus terminals and Iridium Certus connectivity services to business jets, commercial aircraft, rotorcraft, general aviation and UAVs. Iridium Certus is the only L-band broadband platform providing truly global connectivity and upon aviation terminal availability, will provide a state-of-the-art solution for two-way flight deck and business cabin communications.

Iridium Certus will turbocharge the company's existing suite of aircraft safety services, including providing Iridium Future Air Navigation System (FANS) applications such as standard and "enhanced" ADS-C, controller-pilot data link communications and ATS Safety Voice, once certifications are complete. Beyond safety services, Iridium Certus will deliver flight deck and business cabin-friendly internet capabilities such as electronic flight bag services, graphical weather, blackbox streaming, email, credit card processing, VPN access and social media posting and monitoring.

"As the aviation industry continues to adopt satcom as a primary means of long-range communications, reliable and cost-effective systems with truly global coverage are becoming an increasing necessity," said Michael Hooper, director and general manager of aviation, Iridium. "The Iridium Certus platform will provide the only solutions that meet the coverage, cost and capability requirements for this new generation of aircraft communications, and we're excited to further expand our close partnership with Thales to bring these capabilities to market."

Thales plans to be first to market with an Iridium Certus aviation product and has a unique place in the Iridium Certus partner ecosystem as the only company manufacturing land, maritime and aviation terminals. This includes a hybrid FlytLINK solution that combines Iridium Certus capabilities with Iridium's traditional narrowband services, including safety services, which will be available with its initial release.

"We're excited about our aero solution on Iridium Certus and intend to be first to market. Thales FlytLINK will empower customers to achieve their big ambitions, and we're proud to help them do that. This marks another big step towards a long-lasting relationship with Iridium and bringing connectivity to users worldwide," said Craig Olson, vice president of connectivity solutions, Thales InFlyt Experience.

With low latency and superior performance capabilities compared to alternatives, Iridium Certus will be the ideal solution for the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) capability deployed in Europe for domestic en-route communications. Looking ahead, Iridium has also been working closely with major international aviation organizations and ANSPs on the development of the ATN Internet Protocol Suite (IPS), which will offer a more efficient and capable alternative to existing options for aircraft transitioning from Oceanic to Domestic satellite communications.

For more information about Iridium Certus, please visit https://www.iridiumcertus.com

About Iridium Communications Inc.

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 recently completed its next-generation satellite network and launched its new specialty broadband service, Iridium Certus(®). 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. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has based these statements on its current expectations and the information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the timing of introduction, capabilities and benefits of new products and services enabled by the Iridium constellation, including Iridium Certus. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding the development and functionality of Iridium services, and the company's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 28, 2019, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

     
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     Jordan Hassin                        
     Kenneth Levy



     Iridium Communications Inc.          
     Iridium Communications Inc.



     
              Jordan.Hassin@Iridium.com 
     
              Ken.Levy@Iridium.com



     +1 (703) 287-7421                                        
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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.