Iridium Communications Iridium Russia

Iridium Communications LLC was established in Russia in 2009 in response to the growing interest of potential regional clients in the innovative development of the corporation in the field of voice and data communications.

The technical capabilities of the network provide 100% coverage of the entire world, providing organizations and individual users with access to telephone, data and tracking services, as well as other critical means of communication. High-value services satellite communication Iridium expand the capabilities of local operators and high-tech companies operating in Russian markets. Iridium services will provide telephone communication and data transmission in regions where traditional commercial networks cannot reach, including many remote regions of Russia and. Arctic The terrestrial satellite gateway station (ZSSC) of the mobile satellite operator Iridium Russia is built in. Gelendzhik

History

2020

Revenue of Iridium Communities LLC increased by 13.5%

According to the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, available in the Kartoteka.ru service, the revenue of Iridium Communiceshens LLC (a subsidiary of Iridium Communications Inc. in Russia) for 2020 amounted to almost 829 million rubles. (against 730 million rubles in 2019). That is, Iridium's revenue in Russia for 2020 increased by 13.5%. This is better than the results of Iridium on a global scale - the company's revenue in the world in 2020 was 4% higher than a year earlier (amounting to $583.4 million)^[1].

In the world, according to the results of 2020, the Iridium network served 350 thousand subscribers and 962 thousand. IoT devices. Accordingly, the proportion in the subscriber base is 26.7 %/73.3% (if you neglect Certus broadband devices, which are used slightly at ARPU $277 per month). Having divided the revenue in Russia in this proportion, we get that 221.2 million rubles. Iridium Communities LLC brought "live" subscribers and 607.8 million rubles. - IoT services. In a report for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the entire last year, Iridium reported that ARPU of "live" subscribers amounted to $40 per month, and IoT devices - $8.9 per month. Assuming that Iridium tariffs are the same in Russia and the world, then taking into account the size of the ARPU and the average dollar exchange rate for 2020, 71.94 rubles. we get: in Russia, Iridium has 6400 subscribers and over 79 thousand connected IoT devices.

In an interview published on the website iridium-russia.com Iridium CEO Vladislav Shpileva said: "International commercial air transportation fell by almost 70%, and logistics between many countries was interrupted, which also affected our industry. Despite the difficult economic situation and the gradual withdrawal from isolation, satellite operators have no serious cause for concern - most of the critical objects both in space and on Earth are partially or fully automated. Satellite constellations are designed to continue autonomous work and remote control. In any case, the economic downturn and potential insolvency of some subscribers will affect the satellite communications business. The sales structure will change. For example, mobility of people and transport decreased due to the closeness of countries, respectively, satellite phones and personal communications devices are in a slightly less demand. The decrease in demand is traditionally compensated by other segments, Iridium - by government customers, merchant ships. "

"However, if you look at the pieces of the puzzle," said Vladislav Shpileva, "and not at the picture as a whole, you can distinguish certain areas, the current situation only contributes to the active development of which. For example, there is significant growth in the IoT segment - compact smart devices that can support a two-way connection for transmitting, monitoring, tracking and managing data around the world are more relevant than ever during forced distancing. In conditions of danger to people's health, reduced business trips and flights, employers will take more care of the safety of employees and actively introduce contactless methods for monitoring and managing equipment and facilities. Only 10% of the planet is provided with traditional terrestrial communications, in the rest of the world the main assistants are satellite technologies that can ensure business continuity even in such a difficult period. For Russia, this is especially relevant given its huge territories. The domestic market already has existing examples of mining companies that install satellite equipment on industrial equipment and receive analytics from remote parts of the country, and many other examples from different industries. "

Receiving a grant from RFRIT for software development

In September 2020, the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT) summed up the results of the competitive selection for grants in the amount of 217 million for the implementation of projects for the development or refinement of domestic software. More details here.

2016: Iridium launched a station in Izhevsk

On November 17, 2016, Iridium Communications announced the launch of a ground-based interfacing station for the ground and space segments of the Iridium satellite communication system in Izhevsk.

The station has three Ka-band antennas, an AXE-10 switch from Ericsson and SORM equipment.

Iridium system station, (2015)

From today, all the traffic that we receive from the territory of Russia, both by local Iridium subscribers and roumers, passes through the gateway in Izhevsk. Victor Glushko, CEO of Iridium Communities LLC

Our investment in creating an Izhevsk gateway is tens of millions of dollars. This is an important strategic step for the development of the Iridium business. The plans include strengthening the company's position in the Russian market. " In December 2016, the first ten Iridium NEXT satellites will be launched by the Falcon rocket, with them the data transfer rate will increase from 128 kbit/s to 1.4 Mbps. The cost of the next generation orbital grouping Iridium NEXT is $3 billion. In the next 15 months, another 56 spacecraft will launch into orbit (66 Iridium NEXT satellites will replace 66 vehicles of the previous generation). The Izhevsk interfacing station is ready to work with Iridium NEXT satellites, with the help of which the first new generation devices will be tested in orbit[2].

We wanted to legally provide satellite communication services in the Russian Federation. Therefore, a few years ago we began to invest in the construction of a ground support system. We are building such a system for only the third time and for the first time in twenty years. The fact is that our satellite network as a whole does not depend on ground support systems. This is the only network of low-orbit satellites in the world that exchange signals among themselves in space and are not tied to ground stations. We needed a ground station in Russia to be able to work here legally. This week we completed the corresponding work, opened the station, and it began its work. Matt Dash

Matt Dash answered a question from RT about the sanctions imposed on Russia, their impact on the investment climate.

For us, the moment is favorable. Of course, in general, the period is now difficult for everyone, but we have a long-range sight and we reasoned as follows: we will last another fifty years, and it would be simply unthinkable for us not to be represented on the Russian market. We are a commercial enterprise operating around the world. It was important for us to come to the Russian market. It suits us perfectly: in Russia there are many remote areas where our services will be in great demand. There is a large volume of freight, including river traffic, polar routes, intensive air transportation. We want to work in this market and proceed from long-term plans, so we are interested in stimulating innovation and economic growth among Russian companies so that they provide their services and solutions to other companies in Russia, and possibly abroad. Matt Dash

The question about the obstacles that the company could encounter in the process of operating in Russia, the head of the operator company answered in the negative.

No, we didn't. We are an American company that provides its services in various countries of the world. The government is aware that we are investing here exclusively our own money owned by our company and its shareholders. In addition, our services help in saving human lives, so it simply makes no sense to limit them. So we still met here an exceptionally benevolent reception. Matt Dash

2012

Iridium Communications Inc. announced in April 2012 that Russian regulators had allowed its subsidiary Iridium Communications LLC (Iridium Russia, Company) to commence commercial activities in Russia. As expected in the Company, customers will be able to use its services in the II quarter of 2012 - by this time, Iridium Communications LLC plans to complete the fulfillment of all technical requirements provided by the license.

On September 23, 2012, Iridium Communiceshens commissioned the Russian segment of the network to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications (Roskomnadzor). Iridium did not work in Russia for 12 years - in 2000, Iridium LLC went bankrupt, and its Russian Iridium-Eurasia service provider was left without frequencies and an operator license.

According to ComNews Research, in 2012, 20 thousand Russian users used Iridium services, which accounted for 29.5% of the national mobile satellite radio market. Compared to 2011, the subscriber base of the company doubled.

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