Date: 04/12/2012

Cambridge Consultants to develop subscriber equipment for Iridium NEXT

Cambridge Consultants has announced that it has been selected by Iridium Communications Inc. to develop subscriber equipment technology for the satellite constellation covering the entire world.

The Iridium communications is subscribed by organizations and people who work or live at places where no cellular network is feasible in areas such as deserts, north pole, south pole and dense forest regions. Iridium offers two-way, real-time, low-latency voice and data communications services through devices of size bigger than mobile phones but are portable enough to carry along.

“The Iridium NEXT system will enable unmatched wireless connectivity for people in every corner of the globe and with such a significant undertaking comes a myriad of technology challenges,” said Scott Smith, executive vice-president, Technology Development & Satellite Operations, at Iridium. “It is uncommon in this industry to find such an effective long-term design partnership as the one we have with Cambridge Consultants, and we are pleased to have them as a part of the Iridium NEXT Mission Team that is collaborating to move this ambitious project from the design phase into reality.”

Cambridge Consultants said it is now embarking on the construction of prototype communications equipment that will be used to verify the design and performance of the Iridium NEXT system prior to the anticipated start of full construction in 2013. Iridium NEXT is expected to begin launching in 2015 and to be fully operational in 2017.

“We’re proud of our long history with Iridium, and our input to the Iridium NEXT programme will help the company scale its business by maximising its return on investment in this next-generation satellite network,” said Richard Traherne, head of the Wireless division at Cambridge Consultants. “By applying knowledge acquired through our years of work with Iridium, we will ensure not only that the ground terminals and infrastructure for Iridium NEXT are effective, but that performance and user experience take a significant step forward and that flexibility is built in to enable exciting new features for future users.”