Iridium Communications provides satellite-based voice, data, and IoT services with global coverage — including oceans, polar regions, and airways — via a constellation of 66 low-earth orbit satellites. Iridium's key technical differentiator is its mesh satellite architecture, where satellites route traffic via crosslinks to other satellites, enabling pole-to-pole coverage without requiring nearby ground stations. This, combined with weather-resilient L-band spectrum, allows for small, low-power devices including handhelds. Iridium sells almost entirely through a wholesale distribution network of service providers, resellers, and manufacturers who bundle Iridium's technology into maritime terminals, aviation cockpit systems, heavy equipment telematics, and IoT sensors. The U.S. government is the primary direct customer, buying airtime under a long-term contract. Revenue breaks down into commercial services (voice/data, IoT, and broadband), U.S. government airtime and engineering services, hosted payload fees, and equipment sales. IoT is the largest subscriber category, and Iridium is the leading satellite IoT provider by subscriber count. Most revenue is recurring — distributors pay monthly per-subscriber access fees plus usage charges — and since the satellite constellation is largely fixed-cost infrastructure, additional subscribers flow through at high margins. Iridium completed its current satellite generation in 2019 and doesn't expect to fund a replacement until the early-to-mid 2030s, putting the business in a free cash flow harvesting phase. Key growth initiatives include Iridium NTN Direct (a direct-to-device IoT service expected to launch in late 2026), Iridium PNT (a GPS-backup timing and location service targeting data centers, financial networks, and autonomous vehicles), expanding U.S. government contracts, and aviation connectivity.