- Iridium recently teamed with Syniverse to bring D2D to mobile operators worldwide
- The satellite company, one of the few that survived the crash of the late 1990s, is banking on its global reach and weather-resilient L-band spectrum
- The first Iridium NTN Direct connected devices are expected in 2026
Iridium Communications is trying to strike deals with mobile network operators (MNOs) worldwide. A partnership with Syniverse will go a long way toward simplifying things for everyone.
That’s because Syniverse provides services like mobile roaming, authentication and billing functions, to name a few, to about 600 or so carrier customers in 170 countries. If you want to reach mobile operators worldwide, Syniverse is the one for the job.
“They’re basically the plumbing that allows roaming, authentication, billing to occur between carriers, so plugging into Syniverse eliminates a lot of the work that otherwise has to be done,” Iridium CEO Matt Desch told Fierce. “They’re the gold standard.”
It's not an exclusive deal by any means. Skylo Technologies, another non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications company, inked a deal with Syniverse earlier this year. But the Syniverse deal puts Iridium on the fast track to getting its Iridium NTN Direct service into the hands of MNOs and their customers worldwide.
Iridium NTN Direct is the company’s moniker for its 3GPP-based direct-to-device (D2D) service that uses satellite coverage to connect mobile devices. It’s not Iridium's first foray into D2D. The company's initial D2D push involved a partnership with Qualcomm in early 2023, but that deal collapsed after MNOs said they weren’t interested in a proprietary solution.
Iridium pivoted to what it’s now calling NTN Direct, reprogramming its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and network for the 3GPP-based solution. But unlike other D2D wannabes, Iridium doesn’t need to launch an entirely new constellation. It’s existing constellation of 66 active satellites, which was upgraded a few short years ago, will serve it well for the market that it’s targeting.
Iridium’s narrowband focus
Another thing in Iridium’s favor: It’s not competing directly with Starlink in broadband. Iridium’s focus is on narrowband, which is good, in part because Starlink’s parent company SpaceX is Starlink's launch vehicle provider, putting Starlink in a financial position to undercut other satellite competitors on price.
Starlink is also the satellite provider powering T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, set to commercially launch this summer. That solution uses T-Mobile's cellular frequencies, which Desch describes as a “trick your phone into thinking that a cell tower is above you” solution that is regional in nature.
Iridium’s global L-band satellite spectrum is one of the reasons it was able to come out of bankruptcy in 2001 and become so successful today. It now operates a global mesh network around the entire planet that presents “no compromises whatsoever in terms of service,” Desch said.
Enterprises like Caterpillar and Deere don’t want to strike deals with myriad partners around the world; they want a solution that works wherever they need it, when they need it.
“We've been so successful because of our global solution, and we think we're going to be the global narrowband solution for D2D as well,” Desch said.
Reliability matters: analyst
He’s not the only one saying that. The big thing that insulates Iridium from Starlink’s dominance is its L-Band spectrum, which is very resilient to weather, allowing it to serve emergency and mobility-oriented markets that Starlink can’t serve, according to Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss.
“Iridium’s service is not about bandwidth (where Starlink excels), but about reliability and mobility, where we believe Iridium is far superior to Starlink,” he wrote in a note for investors.
Iridium is initially focused on IoT devices, but it’s ready to support consumer devices, including smartphones, when those are equipped with 3GPP Release 19. The first Iridium NTN Direct devices are expected to be available in 2026.
Iridium’s decision to focus on narrowband instead of broadband is strategically sound, said CCS Insight analyst Luke Pearce.
“Whilst offering broadband services via satellite offers a larger market opportunity in the longer-term, entering the broadband space would require an entirely new LEO constellation — a capital-intensive, risky endeavor,” Pearce told Fierce via email. “It would also place Iridium in direct competition with major players like SpaceX Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, and OneWeb, all of whom are investing heavily in global satellite broadband infrastructure.”
Instead, “by leveraging its current assets to support 3GPP narrowband IoT and D2D, Iridium is targeting a high-growth segment and allows them to build a differentiated and profitable niche,” he said.
Iridium has not yet announced a D2D deal with a mobile carrier, but Desch suggested that could come in the not-too-distant future.
“I think it’s going to be a very popular service for IoT particularly,” Desch said, pointing to the automotive sector as one of the most promising. “They’re going to want the most global solution, by far. They’re also going to want a reliable operator who’s been in operation a long time.”
For the time being, Iridium is still in a test phase for D2D. The big debut is expected to come in 2026, and Pearce said he doesn’t think Iridium will be late to the game even though several competitors, like Skylo and Sateliot, have moved early with 3GPP-compliant narrowband services.
“Iridium is not necessarily behind. As a long-established player in satellite IoT with a robust installed base, Iridium’s entry into standards-based D2D could scale quickly once operational. Its reputation and existing relationships could prove critical advantages when enterprise-grade services are required,” he concluded.