Iridium Announces Rapid Adoption of 9601 Data Device by U.S. Department of Defense and Partners

Iridium Satellite is pleased to announce the activation and support of approximately 200 of its 9601 Short Burst Data (SBD) devices through its contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Applications for the 9601 device include asset tracking; integration with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology providing "total asset visibility" (TAV), Blue Force Tracking (BFT) for real-time situational awareness, remote sensing, and remote command and control. Iridium announced the availability of the 9601 through DISA to DoD and government customers in October 2006.

"This quick response to the availability of the Iridium 9601 SBD device indicates the perfect solution for Iridium partners building tracking and sensing systems for DoD customers," said Greg Ewert, executive vice president, Iridium Satellite. "We're pleased to be able to support our important government customers seeking the unique value this device brings to the military market. We are seeing a rapid adoption of the 9601 within the DoD similar to what we saw when we introduced it in the commercial sector."

The 9601 device is an efficient and cost-effective solution to enable remote data communications. The DoD is evaluating it for a variety of Iridium- based military systems including the Portable Deployment Kit (PDK), a lightweight mobile RFID solution; maritime buoys that send and receive data in extremely remote locations; and unattended ground sensors that deliver sensor- triggered data in near real-time.

SBD applications are quickly becoming the most effective way to send and receive information in remote applications. For example, the U.S. Marine Corps is already employing an Iridium satellite-enabled identification and tracking system to provide real-time personnel visibility. The system incorporates RFID tags and Web-based tracking software to provide rapid casualty identification, visibility and status. It relies on Iridium's network of low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites to relay data in real-time from RF interrogators to track the location and condition of injured warfighters.

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