Iridium launches next generation IoT platform

Iridium Communications Inc. has unveiled the Iridium 9604, a compact, three-in-one IoT module that integrates Iridium Short Burst Data^® (SBD^®) satellite service, LTE-M cellular connectivity, and GNSS positioning into a single platform. By combining these features in one device, the Iridium 9604 reduces solution complexity, lowers costs, and accelerates time to market, making dual-mode IoT connectivity viable for price-sensitive, high-volume deployments.

“By integrating cellular, GNSS, and Iridium satellite into a single, power-efficient module, we’re giving customers the flexibility to design and deploy lower cost, smaller, power-efficient, and location-aware solutions without the burden of integrating multiple components,” said Tim Last, executive vice president, Iridium. “With our best-in-class proprietary satellite IoT service and upcoming standards-based NB-IoT service debuting this year, anyone thinking about IoT beyond terrestrial networks is thinking about Iridium first.”

The Iridium 9604 beta program, which launched earlier this year and was oversubscribed by a select group of companies, has generated positive industry feedback highlighting:

• Lower costs, simplified design, and enabling of location-aware network selection

• Savings of 60 percent or more in board space with the 3-in-1 module, Iridium’s smallest-ever form factor

• Easy to use developer resources

“As an early Iridium 9604 developer, utilizing the three-in-one module has already fundamentally changed our product economics,” said Alastair MacLeod, CEO, Ground Control. “We eliminated two components from our bill of materials, reduced our board size, and simplified our power architecture.”

MacLeod continued, “Additionally, having dual mode connectivity options enables a smarter, location-aware network selection in our application. The Iridium 9604 turned what would have been a complex multi-component design into a single-module solution. This is a major breakthrough for our IoT solutions.”

“Our customers require essential data and real-time intelligence to operate with confidence anywhere in the world,” said Dean Welten, CEO, Everlink. “By integrating the Iridium 9604 with our secure cloud platform, we can now enable global connectivity, greater operational efficiency, and measurable impact at scale.”

Representing the next phase of Iridium’s IoT strategy, the Iridium 9604 is moving the company beyond traditional satellite-only modules to a unified, multi-mode connectivity architecture. The Iridium network now offers customers three IoT service paths to follow:

• Iridium SBD packaged with cellular and GNSS in the Iridium 9604 or SBD/Iridium Burst dedicated modules

• Iridium NTN Direct for standards-based direct-to-device using third-party chips

• Iridium Messaging Transport-based (IMT^®) for industrial-scale, larger payload capabilities with the Iridium Certus 9704

The Iridium 9604, built on the u-blox SARA-R5 platform, delivers a compact 16 mm x 26 mm x 2.4 mm form factor, best for dual-mode IoT deployments previously cost-prohibitive across industrial, infrastructure, and mobility applications.

Commercial availability begins in June 2026 with the Iridium 9604 Development Kit made available for testing satellite and cellular services. Reserve priority access today: www.iridium.com/9604