Iridium

Iridium's constellation consists of 66 low-earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites operating as a fully meshed network and supported by multiple in-orbit spares. It is the largest commercial satellite constellation in the world. Iridium manages several operations centers including those in Tempe, Arizona and Leesburg, Virginia, U.S.A. In addition, through its own gateway in Hawaii, the U.S. DoD relies on Iridium for global communications capabilities. The company supplies both voice and data connections. Voice services are provided via dedicated handsets, or through a variety of installed communications systems onboard ships, aircraft and land-based vehicles. Increasingly incorporated into hundreds of applications, Iridium's 9601 short burst data (SBD) transceiver provides packet data connections to every corner of the Earth, transferring location information, weather reports, email, or any other data requiring a reliable, global, two-way connection.