Iridium to Collaborate with Nordic Semiconductor on Iridium NTN Direct integration

Iridium Communications Inc., a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, today announced its collaboration with Nordic Semiconductor for early integration of its Iridium NTN Direct℠ service into Nordic’s LTE-M/NB-IoT modules and chipsets.

Nordic Semiconductor is a global leader in low power wireless connectivity solutions including cellular IoT (LTE-M, NB-IoT), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, and Thread and is trusted by world leading brands across the consumer, industrial, and healthcare segments. Nordic’s complete cellular IoT solutions are ideally suited for connected devices for global tracking, utility metering and industrial remote monitoring and control.

Iridium NTN Direct is planned to be the world’s first truly global NB-IoT service. The product of Iridium’s Project Stardust initiative, Iridium is developing this capability in coordination with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project’s (3GPP) recent decision to accept Iridium enabling enhancements in its next release. This would allow Iridium’s satellite service to be accessible by any device with a 3GPP release 19 compliant chipset. Nordic plans to incorporate the Iridium NTN Direct service’s truly global communication capability as part of its 3GPP release 19 NTN roadmap, taking advantage of the established reliability and experience of the Iridium® network.

“Nordic Semiconductor is an industry leader that continues to be at the forefront of innovation with its low power LTE-M and NB-IoT modules and chipsets,” said Bryan Hartin, executive vice president, Iridium.

“The integration of Iridium NTN Direct into its modules and chipsets marks a new chapter in Nordic’s storied history and will create a universe of consumer and industrial devices with the capability to stay connected from anywhere on earth. We look forward to working with Nordic Semiconductor and them bringing both their chipset- and device-side experience to the Iridium ecosystem.”

“Iridium is a global leader in satellite communications,” said Oyvind Birkenes, executive vice present for the Long Range BU at Nordic Semiconductor. “It is exciting that Iridium is taking the step to enable low-cost, 3GPP-standard NB-IoT modules and chipsets like Nordic’s nRF9151 to connect to its network of satellites. This helps bring the vision of universal connectivity for global and massive IoT to life.”

The Iridium network is ideal for D2D and NB-IoT services with its truly global coverage, weather-resilient, globally coordinated spectrum, and history of providing safety of life services with the highest reliability. 3GPP Release 19 is expected to be formally completed by the end of 2025. Iridium will share more information about Iridium NTN Direct at Mobile World Congress Las Vegas’s NTN Summit on Wednesday October 9, 2024.

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