Iridium communications Inc.: network management from space.

• Author: Gallion, Mari
• Position: TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What do the U.S. military, Iditarod mushers, Denali climbers and river rafting outfitters have in common with a marine vessel in the Mediterranean sailing off the coast of Turkey? The answer: They all depend heavily on satellite technology--particularly, the Iridium Communications Inc. satellite "constellation"--to make phone calls, take measurements, send messages and track people, animals and equipment.

When Brian Richardson, owner of Alaska Raft Connection, is asked whether he owns an Iridium satellite phone, he responds, "I own several.

"In terms of my use, it definitely puts the customers at ease that there is reliable communication ... it's a real phone, and it works just like anybody's cell phone ... except that it works all over the world."

Like many Alaskan business owners, Richardson depends not only on what he calls his "sat phone" to keep in touch with his clients, but also on Iridium's personal location devices to track his clients and equipment.

While describing an incident in which his client's rented raft drifted downriver in the night, Richardson gives praise to his personal location devices: "Of course, we knew exactly where they were, so they were easy to find."

However, according to Richardson, the raft had ended up "in the middle of the river, stuck on a rock, the river was rising, was very difficult to get to, too risky to swim out to, and also all their life jackets were on board the boat too." If it weren't for their contact with Richardson, they would have had to either try to retrieve the raft in waders with no life jackets, or simply wait indefinitely to be deemed missing and be rescued--which would also incur the cost of a search in addition to the risk to human life.

Thanks in a large part to Iridium's many applications, Richardson "had communication with them, and so everything panned out to where I was able to put all of them in my boat, and go get their boat, and everybody finished the trip."

Iridium is Unique

"Alaska is one of our top three markets in the world," says Matt Desch, Iridium president and chief executive officer. "And we do cover the whole world--literally 100 percent of the planet."

Using 66 orbiting satellites, there is literally always an Iridium satellite within range no matter where in the world they are needed. Additionally, due to the fact that Iridium satellites communicate with each other, the Iridium system does not depend as heavily on Earth stations as any...