Global satellite telephone operator Iridium has taken another step into the Internet of Things market (IoT), introducing a new IoT module, which integrates the SBD satellite service, cellular LTE-M and GNSS positioning into a single platform. A new development of Iridium 9604 designed to reduce the complexity of decisions, reduce costs and accelerate time-to-market. The operator sought to create a two-mode IoT connection cost-effective for price-sensitive mass deployments.
For reference: SBD (Short Burst Data) is a reliable and energy-efficient satellite communication service from Iridium Satellite Communications created for the transmission of short messages (from 1 to 1960 byte) between equipment (IoT/M2M) and central systems through the network with 66 satellites. It provides global coverage, low latency (<20 sec) and suitable for asset monitoring in remote areas.
LTE-M is an energy-efficient cellular communication technology of the 4G LPWAN standard, designed for IoT and machine-to-machine interaction. It provides a high density of connections, operation of devices for years from one battery and the possibility of voice transmission. LTE-M uses a narrow frequency band (1,4 MHz) for transferring small amounts of data.
GNSS positioning (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a modern technology for determining exact 3D coordinates (latitude, longitude, height), speed and time of any object on Earth or in the atmosphere using satellite signals. It combines several systems, such as GPS, Galileo, Beidou and GLONASS, working 24/7 in any weather conditions.
24 February 2026 2018, Iridium announced the launch of a new IoT module. Iridium beta program 9604, which started at the beginning of this year, was flooded with applications from a limited group of selected companies. Commercial availability will begin in June, and the Iridium development kit 9604 already available for testing satellite and cellular services.
Iridium 9604 built on the u-blox SARA-R5 platform and has a compact form factor. According to the company, it is ideal for dual-mode IoT deployments, which were previously too expensive in industrial ones, infrastructure and mobile applications. Using this three-in-one module has dramatically changed the economics of the product. Eliminating two components from the bill of materials reduced the size of the board and simplified the power architecture. in addition, the presence of two-mode communication allows the application to choose a network more clearly, taking into account the location.
Source: https://www.satellitetoday.com