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Iridium Begins Construction on New Ground Station in Alaska
BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Satellite has begun construction of a new Telemetry, Tracking and Command/Control (TTAC) site in Fairbanks, Alaska. With this new facility, Iridium will be adding another layer of flexibility and redundancy for its global mobile satellite communication network.
Covering 12 acres, the company will initially equip the new Alaska ground station with three Iridium earth terminals (ETs). Iridium will add two additional ETs later this year, with three more planned in 2007. Alaska-based employees will manage the site.
"Alaska is the logical location for the ground station because of the physical configuration of the Iridium network," said Carmen Lloyd, CEO and Chairman, Iridium Satellite. "In addition, the state offers a pool of human and technological resources, many affiliated with local universities and businesses. Couple that with Alaska's modern infrastructure, and top-notch telecommunications and energy resources. The state also has been ideal to work with from an economic and regulatory standpoint."
The Fairbanks ground station will provide additional visibility and access to Iridium's constellation of 66 low-earth orbiting, cross-linked and fully meshed satellites. It will add to the company's command and control capabilities and functionality, particularly for government users. The company also will use the ground station for remote access to Iridium satellites from the company's existing gateways.
If space-to-ground communications is ever interrupted at an existing Iridium site, the Alaska ground station will allow access to the constellation without interfering with normal traffic activity. This adds yet another layer of important reliability for the Iridium network and for customers. The Alaska ground station will be Iridium's fourth TTAC site. Two are located in Canada and one is located in Iceland.
"Iridium wants to welcome new employees joining the Alaska team this year," Lloyd said. "Their work in this facility will not only help Iridium add network capabilities today. We're making a major investment in maintaining the robustness and reliability of our network. And, we now have the opportunity to further expand utilization of our network through this site in the future."
About Iridium Satellite
Iridium Satellite LLC (http://www.iridium.com/) is the only provider of truly global satellite voice and data solutions with complete coverage of the earth (including oceans, airways and Polar Regions). Iridium delivers essential communications services to and from remote areas where no other form of communication is available. The Iridium constellation of 66 low-earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites, operates as a fully meshed network and is the largest commercial satellite constellation in the world. The Iridium service is ideally suited for industries such as maritime, aviation, government/military, emergency/humanitarian services, mining, forestry, oil and gas, heavy equipment, transportation and utilities. Iridium provides service to the U.S. Department of Defense. The company also designs, builds and sells its services, products and solutions through a worldwide network of more than 100 partners.
First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:
Iridium Satellite LLC
CONTACT: Liz DeCastro of Iridium Satellite LLC, +1-301-571-6257,liz.decastro@iridium.com; or Jim Rhodes of Rhodes Communications,+1-757-451-0602, jrhodes@rhodescomm.com, for Iridium Satellite LLC
Web site: http://www.iridium.com/
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