- A bunch of players, including SpaceX/Starlink, are vying for a piece of the D2D market
- Iridium suffered a setback in 2023 when a deal with Qualcomm was scuttled
- The breakdown affected Iridium’s perception as a significant player in the D2D market
Iridium isn’t the first name you think of when it comes to the direct-to-device (D2D) space – SpaceX/Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, Lync Global and OneWeb spring to mind — but it’s been around the block enough to earn a seat at the table.
Perhaps more accurately, it intends to earn a seat, according to Bryan Hartin, Iridium’s EVP of sales and marketing, who spoke to Fierce Network about the company's challenges and goals.
None of these companies are exactly where Apple aligns with Globalstar, having been first out of the gate to offer an Emergency SOS service with the iPhone 14 in 2022. They’re all still in the race to chase the No. 1 terrestrial/satellite provider.
Where’s Iridium with D2D?
After Apple launched its Globalstar-powered iOS emergency service with a fair amount of fanfare, the Android segment was pretty much left out in the cold looking for its own answer to the D2D market.
Iridium hooked up with Qualcomm to provide a proprietary solution for Android OEMs, and if that had followed its natural route, Iridium probably would be enjoying the benefits today with Samsung’s latest gadgets. But that was not to be. Android OEMs decided they didn’t want the propriety solution that Iridium was peddling.
“We pivoted and said OK, we’ve got the network. We just need to spend some time with the standards body and we’ve got to develop that capability,” Hartin said.
Since then, Iridium has been working with 3GPP to develop a standards-based solution. Iridium’s endeavor is called Project Stardust, which it unveiled at CES in January 2024.
“Because we’re building toward the standards now, we’re targeting Release 19 and that should put us in the 2026 timeframe for when we can offer this,” Hartin said.
To be compared to someone like Starlink, which still needs to launch a lot of satellite infrastructure into space, is good for Iridium, Hartin added.
Iridium’s low earth orbit (LEO) constellation consists of 66 satellites and 14 spares.
As a company, Iridium has been around for more than two decades. “The heavy lifting is done for us,” he said. “We get accused of sort of being boring in that we can add this capability into our network, but we don’t have to invest a bunch more capital to build a whole new network. That’s one of the advantages that we have. Plus, we’ve got 25-plus years of satellite experience that a lot of these other folks don’t.”
AST Space Mobile recently made a splash about Verizon’s $100 million investment, which is on top of AT&T’s support. Some analysts suggested that Verizon, which previously was a reluctant investor in D2D, made the modest investment to ward off Starlink’s free run of the market. Starlink, of course, has the backing of T-Mobile, which expects to launch a commercial D2D service this year.
Currently Iridium does not have the support of one or more U.S. carriers, but Hartin said that doesn't put the company at a disadvantage. He said Iridium is talking to all of the carriers and operating system providers.
To be sure, AT&T and Verizon are laying some bets. “With us, they don’t have to do that,” he said.
“These startups have a lot of promises and big ideas … but that’s the big difference between the startups and us. We’re there. We’re adding capability to our already reliable network. They’ve got to build it from scratch,” he said.
Iridium's perception problem
Still, Iridium’s got a perception problem. Its 2023 setback with the breakdown of the Qualcomm deal created the idea that it’s lagging the competition, which is deploying newer LEO constellations, according to Luke Pearce, analyst with CCS Insight.
The competition is not only from new entrants like SpaceX/Starlink and AST SpaceMobile but also from recently merged and invigorated players such as Inmarsat/ViaSat and SES/Intelsat, which are heavily investing in their own existing and new constellations, he said.
“Despite these challenges, Iridium's constellation should not be dismissed. It is a proven, reliable, truly global network generating double-digit revenue and subscriber growth, particularly in IoT of which it is a market leader. This contrasts with VC-backed startups, whose technologies and business models are as yet unproven and face substantial investment and regulatory hurdles,” Pearce said.
The 3GPP route means it needs to foster an ecosystem that includes devices, chipsets, mobile network operators and applications. That’s no easy feat, and Iridium is notably absent from groups aiming to do this, such as the Mobile Satellite Services Association, he said.
Other examples include Intelsat's Ku-band project, which recently garnered support from 35 companies and 3GPP community members, including other satellite operators, terrestrial vendors, and MNOs, according to Pearce.
“Whilst Iridium will likely continue to pursue a 3GPP-led D2D strategy as a part of its operations, we think this focus will be on utilizing this for its IoT business, rather than targeting smartphones,” he concluded.