Iridium AxcessPoint turns your satellite phone into a mobile hotspot

Hello there traveler. Have you discovered that you sorely miss being connected to the internet while wandering the desert or adrift at sea? Sure, you could buy a satellite modem, but after dropping a cool grand on a satellite phone you're probably not looking to break the bank just to check your e-mail. Iridium's new AxcessPoint may be just what you're looking for. Sure, the $200 asking price for this deck-of-cards-sized device isn't exactly chump change, but it's far cheaper than other solutions. Simply plug it into a compatible Iridium phone and you've got an instant mobile hotspot. Yes, the speeds are going to be of the sub-dialup variety and you'll have to fork over $1 for every minute of data used, but it's a small price to pay for being able to check your latest Groupon offers while floating in the middle of the Sargasso Sea. Check out the PR after the break.

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Iridium Force(TM) -- A New Vision for Global Communications -- Designed to Enhance and Expand the Way People and Organizations Connect Everywhere
Iridium Introduces New Products and Services That Demonstrate the Power of Iridium Force

MCLEAN, Va., Sep 7, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM +3.45% today announced its vision for the future of personal mobile satellite communications, Iridium Force(TM). This vision uses the power of the world's furthest reaching network to accelerate the development of enhanced personal communication capabilities for people and organizations everywhere. Iridium Force breaks the mold of traditional satellite industry go-to-market strategies by making Iridium technology more accessible and cost-effective for partners to develop a wider range of Iridium-based products and services. This new vision opens the licensing of core Iridium technologies as well as the company's most fundamental offering -- global connectivity.

Five key tenets guide the Iridium Force strategy:

-- Extend beyond satellite phones: Iridium is enabling communications where
people need them most, and in more ways than they expect, and connecting
to Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as smartphones (BlackBerry(R), Android(R)
or Apple iPhone(R)), tablets and laptops, as well as favorite
applications, far beyond the reach of terrestrial networks;
-- Simplify connections: Iridium is investing in making its technology more
accessible and cost-effective for partners to embed across an
ever-widening range of services;
-- Drive innovation: Iridium is opening and licensing its core technologies
and its network so it can collaborate with a broader set of innovators
to create new solutions for expanding new markets;
-- Enable location-awareness: Iridium is integrating GPS location-based
services for on-the-go location-specific applications and personal
security capabilities; and
-- Perform without compromise: Iridium continues its promise to provide
tough, dependable, truly mobile devices and services that work reliably
everywhere on the surface of the planet.

"Iridium pioneered the satellite phone industry more than 10 years ago with the first handheld, commercial satellite phone," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "With Iridium Force, we are leading an industry transformation once again by significantly extending the universe of handheld connectivity options. Iridium Force is our strategic vision for rapidly connecting more people in ways never thought possible -- even going beyond the limits of our own devices. Iridium Force is more than the launch of a new satellite phone; it signifies our commitment to enable powerful new capabilities including those devices that are already in customers' hands to work on the Iridium network -- today and in the future."

New product and service offerings being announced today encompassing Iridium Force include:

Voice and Data Products

-- Iridium Extreme(TM) -- Iridium Force has inspired the introduction of
the most advanced, rugged satellite handset on the market. Iridium
Extreme is the smallest and lightest Iridium handset model, with the
ability to precisely locate users anywhere on the surface of the planet.
It meets stringent U.S. Department of Defense Military Standard 810F for
durability and is rich in capabilities, featuring the first dedicated,
two-way emergency SOS button on a satellite phone. The phone leads the
market in its offering of online tracking portals, with fully integrated
GPS and location-based service (LBS) capabilities for web-based location
identification and tracking of friends, loved ones or employees. Iridium
Extreme delivers reliability, safety and peace of mind everywhere.

-- Iridium Core 9523 --This voice and data module is the "brains" of the
Iridium Extreme satellite phone. The Iridium Core 9523 is a
sophisticated and flexible device packaged into a small and
cost-effective platform for partners to develop new Iridium-based
handheld solutions. Iridium is licensing this core technology to
innovators who require the building blocks to develop their own
Iridium-based global voice and data communication devices and solutions.
A number of our partners are already developing products and services
surrounding the Iridium Core 9523.

Location-Based Services (LBS) Data Offerings

-- Iridium Tracking Portals -- Customers can now access location
monitoring, messaging and safety tools enabled by the Iridium Extreme
satellite phone. More than 17 of our partners are creating customized
online tracking portals developed using Iridium's open software
platform. Portal features include tracking an Iridium Extreme user's
real-time status and location, zooming to street level via online maps,
scheduling regular check-ins, providing emergency services,
"geo-fencing," and sending free-form, canned and social networking
messages.

Wi-Fi Products and Services

Iridium is also introducing new products and services that will allow Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones, tablets and laptops to connect anywhere on the Iridium global network.

-- Iridium AxcessPoint -- Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones, tablets and laptops
will be able to connect anywhere through the Iridium network. Iridium
AxcessPoint is a portable and lightweight Wi-Fi hotspot accessory that
easily connects BlackBerry and Android devices to the Iridium network
using an Iridium Extreme or Iridium 9555 satellite phone. iPhone, iPad
and iPod Touch devices, and Windows and Mac laptops, will need to
download the new, free Iridium AxcessPoint Mail & Web application.
Iridium AxcessPoint is expected to be available in fourth quarter of
2011 with a suggested retail price of less than $200 (USD).

-- Iridium AxcessPoint Connect -- Created for Iridium phone users
travelling with laptops, this downloadable application for use with the
Iridium Direct Internet software connectivity tool turns any Windows
laptop into a global Wi-Fi hotspot when connected to an Iridium Extreme
or Iridium 9555 satellite phone. Iridium AxcessPoint Connect enables
Wi-Fi compatible devices, such as smartphones, to synchronize and
respond to email or use the Internet over the Iridium network. Users can
download Iridium AxcessPoint Connect and Direct Internet applications
free of charge.

Standard airtime charges apply for use over the Iridium network for the solutions listed above.

"A satellite-based hotspot and product suite will empower today's enterprise and consumer users, who demand ubiquitous connectivity on devices they are familiar with," said Yankee Group Analyst John Keough. "For multinational organizations, such a suite provides a simple global alternative to navigating the complex roaming agreements currently found on terrestrial networks."

For more information on Iridium Force and the products and services announced today, visit www.iridium.com .

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 ever-expanding 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 trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbols IRDM (common stock) and IRDMW ($7.00 warrants). 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 timing of the development and introduction of new products and services by Iridium and its partners, anticipated improvements in accessibility and cost-effectiveness for partners to develop a wider range of Iridium-based products and services, and the development and deployment of the Iridium NEXT system. Other 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 the health, capacity and content of Iridium's current satellite constellation, Iridium and its partners' ability to develop and market new products and services, 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-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 7, 2011, and in the company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, filed with the SEC on August 8, 2011. 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.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Iridium Communications Inc.