What's NEXT?

In February 2007, Iridium announced a bold vision called "Iridium NEXT." NEXT will replace the company's current satellite constellation with an even more powerful system -- before Iridium's high quality of service is ever compromised due to constellation age. This new system is currently under development by Iridium system engineers in conjunction with a number of experienced aerospace companies. Specifications are being written, and suppliers are expected to sign up sometime in 2008. Funding for the new system will largely come from the profits of the existing system, with any additional capital raised via public and private concerns. While NEXT hasn't been completely specified yet, there are a number of important principles Iridium is incorporating into in its design:

The NEXT vision goes beyond traditional mobile satellite systems and creates a number of powerful new business opportunities for customers and partners:

More information will be released about Iridium NEXT as the system is designed and manufacturing and technology partners are selected. We will be providing current customers information on the new constellation as we get closer, but are anticipating that the transition to NEXT will be seamless and unnoticeable as customers continuously use our service.