Company: IRDM
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001628280-25-005302
Chunk: 3

Company: Iridium Communications Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-13
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 3
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-and-control and situational awareness purposes. Our satellite network provides increased network security to the U.S. government because traffic is routed across our satellite constellation before being brought down to earth through the dedicated, secure U.S. government gateway. The U.S. government has made, and continues to make, significant investments to upgrade its dedicated gateway, to purchase our voice and data devices, and to invest directly and indirectly in research and development and implementation support for additional services on our network, such as Distributed Tactical Communications Services, or DTCS, and Iridium Certus.

We also provide engineering and support services to the U.S. government under a contract awarded by the Space Development Agency in May 2022 to General Dynamics Mission Systems, with Iridium as a subcontractor, which we refer to as the SDA contract. Under this contract, General Dynamics Mission Systems and Iridium will build ground entry points and operations centers for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), as well as provide network operations and systems integration services for the SDA’s next tranche of proliferated low-earth orbit satellites. 

We sell our products and services to commercial end users through a wholesale distribution network, encompassing approximately 110 service providers, approximately 310 value-added resellers, or VARs, and approximately 85 value-added manufacturers, or VAMs, which create and sell technology that uses the Iridium network either directly to the end user or indirectly through other service providers, VARs or dealers. These distributors often integrate our products and services with other complementary hardware and software and have developed a broad suite of applications using our products and services to target specific lines of business. We expect that demand for our services will increase as more applications are developed and deployed that utilize our technology.

At December 31, 2024, we had approximately 2,460,000 billable subscribers worldwide, representing an 8% increase compared to December 31, 2023. Total revenue increased from $790.7 million in 2023 to $830.7 million in 2024, representing a 5% increase.

Industry

We compete primarily in the mobile satellite services sector of the global communications industry. Mobile satellite services operators provide voice and data services to people and machines using a network of satellites and ground facilities. Mobile satellite services are intended to meet users’ needs for connectivity in all locations where terrestrial wireless and wireline communications networks do not exist, do not provide sufficient coverage, or are impaired, including rural and developing areas