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Iridium Satellite LLC is a privately held corporation that acquired the assets of Iridium LLC in December of 2000. A global satellite communications company. Its services allow users to communicate virtually anywhere in the world through voice, data and messaging. Interested customers can obtain Iridium service through Iridium's authorized Service Partners.
QUESTION: Why did Iridium choose low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites?
ANSWER: Iridium chose LEO satellites because this configuration offers a number of benefits to customers. Unlike geosynchronous satellites, which hover about the equator at an altitude of 35,900 kilometers (22,300 miles), the Iridium constellation of 66 satellites are in polar orbits at an altitude of only 780 kilometers (485 miles). This orbital configuration provides the following benefits over systems based on other orbital configurations: No significant transmission delays; small, handheld pagers and phones (versus laptop-size terminals); lower transmit power resulting in longer battery life; and complete global coverage, including all oceans and all land areas including the Poles.
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QUESTION: How can Iridium subscribers receive customer care?
ANSWER: Customers may contact an authorized Service Partner .
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QUESTION: Will the Iridium handset or pager work inside buildings?
ANSWER: The Iridium system design is predicated upon line-of-sight access to the satellite. Therefore, in-building coverage for handsets is generally not available. The Iridium pager provides a better means of receiving messages in urban locations and can be used inside buildings. In any case, callers who are unable to reach the subscriber on an Iridium handset for any reason will have the option of leaving a message that will be delivered the next time the handset has line-of-site access to the satellite constellation.
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QUESTION: How large is Iridium's service coverage area?
ANSWER: The Iridium system is the only communications system providing true global communications coverage including oceans, and all land areas including the Poles. The Iridium system blankets the Earth, connecting global satellite coverage with local ground-based wireless services.
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QUESTION: How does someone call me on my Iridium phone and what do they pay?
ANSWER: Callers simply dial your Iridium phone number, which will be an international call with rates set by their phone company. The Iridium country codes are 8816 and 8817.
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QUESTION: Do I need an Iridium phone number to use Iridium's satellite service?
ANSWER: Yes
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QUESTION: For the paging service, how large is the area that an Iridium page message can be delivered? How would I arrange to be able to receive a page in a foreign country?
ANSWER: The Iridium system is capable of delivering pages to any point on Earth. The system views the world as a collection of areas (called Message Delivery Areas or MDA's) in which messages can be delivered. In most cases, MDA's will correspond to national boundaries. However, large countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Russia, and the United States will consist of several MDA's. You will have access to three MDA's at a time and will receive messages in all three without having to change coverage. MDA's are identified at the point of sale and must be entered into the system at the time of provisioning. To change an MDA, contact your Service Partner, or refer to your Iridium User Guide for instructions on how to dial-in and change your MDA's via the automated response system.
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QUESTION: How can someone send messages to an Iridium pager?
ANSWER: Messages can be sent to an Iridium pager by going to http://messaging.iridium.com/, or messages can be sent through e-mail by typing in the pager number@msg.iridium.com (e.g. 8816XXXXXXXX@msg.iridium.com).
