Company: IRDM
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001628280-25-005302
Chunk: 54

Company: Iridium Communications Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 54
---
 services. During this time, our customers would be unable to use those services, and we could suffer a loss of revenue and harm to our reputation. When operating on our backup facility, any further failure could leave us unable to offer services for an extended period. Our gateways and operations center may also experience service shutdowns or periods of reduced service in the future as a result of equipment failures, delays in deliveries, or regulatory issues. Any such failure would impede our ability to provide service to our customers.

Our customized hardware and software may be difficult and expensive to service, upgrade or replace.

Some of the hardware and software we use in operating our gateways is significantly customized and tailored to meet our requirements and specifications and could be difficult and expensive to service, upgrade or replace. Although we maintain inventories of some spare parts, it nonetheless may be difficult, expensive or impossible to obtain replacement parts for the hardware due to a limited number of those parts being manufactured to our requirements and specifications. In addition, our business plan contemplates updating or replacing some of the hardware and software in our network as technology advances, but the complexity of our requirements and specifications may present us with technical and operational challenges that complicate or otherwise make it expensive or infeasible to carry out such upgrades and replacements. If we are not able to suitably service, upgrade or replace our equipment, our ability to provide our services and therefore to generate revenue could be harmed.

Rapid and significant technological changes in the satellite communications industry may impair our competitive position and require us to make significant additional capital expenditures.

The satellite communications industry is subject to rapid advances and innovations in technology. We face competition from companies using new technologies and new satellite systems, including a significant number of new entrants who are developing or have announced a wide array of technologies, some of which compete directly with one or more of our existing or planned products and services. New technology could render our system obsolete or less competitive by satisfying customer demand in more attractive ways or through the introduction of incompatible standards. Particular technological developments that could adversely affect us include the deployment by our competitors of new satellites with greater power, flexibility, efficiency or capabilities than ours, as well as continuing improvements in terrestrial wireless technologies. For us to keep up with technological changes and remain competitive, we have made and may continue to make significant research and development and capital expenditures, including capital to design and launch new products and services over the short to medium term, and, over the longer term, the acquisition of additional spectrum, satellites, launch vehicles and other network resources