MCLEAN, Va., May 29, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM ) today announced it has extended its agreement to provide satellite connectivity to SkyBitz in support of their new SkyBitz as a Service (SBS) offering. As a leader in remote asset tracking and information management solutions, the new SBS offering will provide SkyBitz customers with an innovative way to employ their asset management solutions without any upfront capital investment. Continuing a long-standing relationship, Iridium will provide the satellite connectivity that supports these solutions such as comprehensive trailer and asset information management and historical trend analytics.
"SBS is a true industry shift, and one that is enabling companies with asset fleets to quickly and easily deploy SkyBitz's industry leading solutions while matching the monthly cost with the monthly operational benefits," said David Wigglesworth, vice president and general manager, Americas and global machine-to-machine services at Iridium. "We're extremely pleased to be the satellite connectivity provider for SBS. This next-generation service, coupled with Iridium's reliable global connectivity, can have a significant and positive impact on the bottom line of these businesses and enable them to accurately track assets no matter where they are located."
"By extending our partnership with Iridium, we're continuing to give our customers reliable, global tracking capabilities," said Shawn Welsh, vice president of marketing and business development, SkyBitz, a Telular company. "Iridium ® provides our customer's seamless global coverage and rapid deployment into new markets. Both are key to providing the support and services they need as their businesses continue to grow beyond North America."
SkyBitz as a Service delivers actionable information to enable customers to quickly make more informed decisions in order to run their fleet as efficiently as possible. Unlike competitive offerings, SBS eliminates for its customers the hassles of upfront costs and risk exposure associated with owning and maintaining the hardware. The offering has quickly gained popularity in the industry, with many significant customers already using the service.
Iridium's M2M growth strategy includes serving mission-critical enterprise communication needs for fleet and vehicle tracking, heavy equipment, container and mobile asset tracking across the utility, oil and gas, maritime and aviation markets. Iridium's M2M data subscribers have grown at a 56 percent compound annual rate since 2008, and now represent 45 percent of its total customer base. The company now draws over one-fifth of its commercial service revenue from the satellite M2M market.
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network – Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the uses and benefits of Iridium's products and services . Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "anticipates," "may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding Iridium's ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its current satellite constellation and the development of and transition to Iridium NEXT, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 1, 2014, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time. There is no assurance that Iridium's expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium's forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Diane Hockenberry Iridium Communications Inc. +1 (703) 287-7421
