Satellite comms provider Iridium Communications is inviting device makers, chipmakers, mobile operators, and IoT developers to have their say on the functionality of its developing NB-IoT satellite network. The US firm has convened a consultancy operation as part of its non-terrestrial network (NTN) service, called Project Stardust, with a view to prime it for rapid development of consumer and enterprise IoT projects.
Iridium is in the “early stages” of deploying NB-IoT, based on the 5G NR specifications for NTN (satellite) connectivity, on its existing low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite network. The company anticipates testing to begin in 2025, and the service to go live in 2026. It said the intervening period “offers a special opportunity [for sundry players in the IoT ecosystem] to have their requirements woven into the fabric of the Iridium network”.
It said it is already collaborating with “several” device-to-device (D2D) and IoT companies to “understand and incorporate their use cases, requirements, and end-user needs” into its planned service. Satellite NB-IoT gives the company the ability to offer both proprietary and standardized D2D and IoT services to its customers,” it said in a statement. It added: “Iridium understands the market need for customers to develop and certify products quickly.”
Iridium’s satellite network, currently a proprietary solution in L-band spectrum, supports around 2.2 million users, including around 1.7 million IoT customers, with many using the service for personal trackers and satellite messengers; its subscriber base has grown at a compound annual of 15 percent over the last five years. The network carries 1,300 SOS and emergency (911 or equivalent) incidents per year around the world. It claims an “ecosystem” of 500-odd partners.
Its initial NB-IoT offering will support messaging and SOS capabilities for smartphones, tablets, cars, and related consumer applications. It is offering IoT developers and operators the choice of a proprietary (L-band), standards-based (cellular), or integrated dual-mode solution. It argued: “Mobile operators will have the opportunity to be a one-stop shop for ubiquitous coverage and off-grid use cases, with unmatched industry reliability.”
Iridium claims its LEO constellation does not suffer from the same line-of-sight limitations or power requirements or outages that “can affect entire regions from a single satellite as faced by geostationary systems”. The company vies with US rival Orbcomm as the dominant player in the satellite IoT market. Last year, analyst house Berg Insight placed Iridium at the top of the satellite IoT pile in terms of subscriber connections – leading from Orbcomm, Inmarsat, and Globalstar.