Remember Iridium Satellite? If not, you’re forgiven.
Iridium was one of the first low-earth-orbit satellite projects to actually open for business in 1998.

There was lots of publicity then. Unfortunately, the company went into bankruptcy the following year – even before the big recession that ended so many other technology businesses.
Iridium was an ambitious project, one of many during the 1990s; the same era in which much cheaper cellular technology was maturing and spreading rapidly. After the bankruptcy of Iridium and of its less ambitious competitor, Orbcomm, in 2000, investors lost interest in high-flying satellite projects.
But both Iridium and Orbcomm emerged from bankruptcy early in this decade; in fact Orbcomm has been quietly signing up customers who provide services to truck fleets for a few years now.
But Iridium differs from Orbcomm with more than double the number of satellites, wider bandwidth and less delay – or latency – in transmitting signals. Orbcomm was built for tracking and short messaging. Iridium was made for real-time phone conversation.
Well last week, our industry heard once again from Iridium. The company announced it will introduce a new, cost-effective 9600 data transceiver this year based on short burst data technology that can be built into devices for various kinds of asset tracking and data services.
According to the Iridium press release, the 9600 transceiver “will offer superior price-performance capability over existing satellite-based options. Iridium’s short burst data service, which the 9600 will enable, is an efficient packet-based technology. It is optimized for the frequent data transmissions that asset tracking and remote monitoring applications typically require.”
Iridium offers at least one benefit that ground-based tracking solutions cannot – universal coverage. The company lists supply chain management among its target markets.
What will Iridium short burst data service cost? How will it compare to ground-based systems? Will low-earth-orbit satellites finally fulfill their earlier promise?
Stay tuned.