Company: IRDM
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001628280-25-005302
Chunk: 38

Company: Iridium Communications Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 38
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 plan and restrictions under Aireon’s debt facility, we do not expect this redemption of our ownership interest to occur for several years. 

The Aireon Holdings LLC Agreement provides for Aireon Holdings to be managed by a board of directors consisting of 11 members, of which we have the right to nominate two directors. The Aireon Holdings LLC Agreement also provides the minority holders, including us, with several protective provisions. We account for our investment in Aireon Holdings in our consolidated financial statements as an equity method investment. 

We and the other Aireon investors have agreed to participate pro rata, based on our respective fully diluted current ownership stakes, in funding an investor bridge loan to Aireon as needed. Our maximum commitment under the investor bridge loan is $11.9 million, although no amount was outstanding at December 31, 2024.

Competition

The mobile satellite services industry is highly competitive, and we currently face substantial competition from other service providers that offer a range of mobile and fixed communications options. Currently, our principal mobile satellite services competitors are Viasat, Globalstar, ORBCOMM, and Thuraya Telecommunications Co., or Thuraya. We compete primarily on the basis of coverage, quality, mobility and pricing of services and products. 

Viasat, following its acquisition of Inmarsat, owns and operates a fleet of GEO satellites. Unlike LEO satellites, GEO satellites orbit the earth at approximately 22,300 miles above the equator. GEO systems require substantially larger and more expensive antennas, and typically have higher transmission delays than LEO systems. Due to its GEO system, Viasat’s coverage area covers most bodies of water except for a majority of the polar regions. Viasat is a significant provider of satellite communications services to the maritime sector. Viasat also offers land-based and aviation communications services.

Globalstar owns and operates a fleet of LEO satellites. Globalstar’s service is available only on a multi-regional basis as a result of its “bent pipe” architecture, which requires that voice and data transmissions be routed from satellites immediately to nearby ground stations. This design requires the use of multiple ground stations, which are impractical in some extreme latitudes or over portions of the oceans. 

ORBCOMM also provides commercial services using a fleet of LEO satellites and also sells its customers some services from Viasat. Like Globalstar, ORBCOMM’s network also has a “bent pipe” architecture, which constrains its