Unleashing the power of opportunity

We are constantly finding new ways to expand the possible, including NEXT, our second-generation constellation of 66 LEO satellites with enhanced capabilities.

How It Works

The design of the Iridium network allows voice and data messages to be routed anywhere in the world. Voice and data calls are relayed from one satellite to another until they reach the satellite above the Iridium handset or terminal and the signal is relayed back to Earth. When an Iridium customer places a call from a handset or terminal, it connects to whatever satellite happens to be overhead, and is relayed among satellites around the globe to whatever satellite is above the appropriate Earth gateway, which downlinks the call and transfers it to the global public voice network or Internet so that it reaches the recipient.

The satellites are in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 485 miles (780 km). The 66 active satellites fly in formation in six orbital planes, evenly spaced around the planet, each with 11 satellites equally spaced apart from each other in that orbital plane.

A single satellite completely circles the Earth once every 100 minutes, traveling at a rate of 16,832 miles per hour, and traveling from horizon to horizon across the sky in about ten minutes. As a satellite moves out of reach, the call is seamlessly handed over to the next satellite coming into view...Read more

Network Performance

Click the link below to read about how independent testing confirms Iridium's quality advantage. Highlights include:

• More than 99 percent of calls placed through Iridium handsets were successfully connected compared to 51.3 percent of all calls from a competitor's handset.
• 98.1 percent of calls on Iridium handsets were successfully connected and completed without being dropped during a three-minute period compared to 36.2 percent of calls on a competitor's handset.

Iridium Next