Iridium Secures Formal Approval for Global Maritime Service

January 15, 2020

Iridium Secures Formal Approval for Global Maritime Service

Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM has secured formal approval from the International Mobile Satellite Organization to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service. The maritime service capabilities will allow the company to extend critical service to the growing fleet of ships in the waters of the Arctic and Antarctica, otherwise known as Sea Area A4.

The Letter of Compliance issued by the International Mobile Satellite Organization authorizes Iridium to provide satellite GMDSS service, enabling global network coverage for a critical emergency service for the first time. The recognition, after a thorough evaluation for more than four years, reinforces the commitment and contribution by the company over the years for the safety of mariners and passengers at sea.

In order to make the service more robust, Iridium will integrate the key three GMDSS services, namely distress alert, distress voice and Maritime Safety Information in a truly global compact terminal. This, in turn, will facilitate the company to render both normal and emergency communications, including Ship Security Alert System, Anti-Piracy/Citadel Communications, and Long-Range Identification and Tracking. With a holistic model, the cost-effective service is likely to be affordable to vessels of all sizes, including smaller fishing boats and yachts that do not require to be GMDSS equipped.

Iridium shares a strategic relationship with various government organizations, including military and disaster response agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide robust, tactical, real-time voice and low-latency data command and control communications on a regular basis. It provides unrivalled mission-critical communications and maintenance services to all the military branches of U.S. Department of Defense with global coverage, low latency and mobility and security in areas where no terrestrial or wireless means of communications are available.

Iridium’s mobile and satellite communication network leverages the advanced interlinked mesh architecture of 66 operational satellites to provide global reach of its services across numerous territories. The company delivers cost-effective and competitive broadband services through its highly-lauded Iridium Certus technology. The technology delivers a wide array of services, ranging from voice to a high-throughput L-band data connection to meet the burgeoning demands of customers. The satellite communications company has also teamed up with Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing platform of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN to create a cloud-based solution, Iridium CloudConnect, to bolster global coverage for IoT applications.

Over the past year, the stock has outperformed the industry with an average return of 31.6% compared with the 17.8% rise of the latter.



Iridium carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the broader industry include America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V. AMX, and BlackBerry Limited BB, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.


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