Iridium Announces Q2 2008 Results

EBITDA Up 28 Percent, Revenue Up 22 Percent and Subscribers Up 38 Percent over
Q2 2007

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Satellite LLC today
announced financial results for the second quarter which ended June 30, 2008.
"Our strong second quarter solidifies our position as the fastest-growing
voice and data mobile satellite services (MSS) company," said Matt Desch,
Iridium chairman and CEO. "For our fifth consecutive quarter, we posted
double-digit increases for all the important metrics -- revenue, earnings and
subscriber gains. As the only MSS provider with a truly global network, we are
benefiting from continued strong usage in our key vertical markets, as well as
from increased demand from enterprise organizations that depend on Iridium to
communicate to and from anywhere in the world."
Total revenue in the second quarter 2008 was $81.7 million versus $66.7
million in the same quarter last year, a 22 percent increase. For the
six-month period that ended June 30, 2008, Iridium posted $156 million in
revenue, a 31 percent increase over the first half of 2007.
Second quarter 2008 EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation
and Amortization) of $25.8 million was 28 percent greater than the second
quarter 2007 total of $20.2 million while EBITDA for the first six months of
2008 was $50.2 million, a 49 percent rise over the same period in 2007.
As of June 30, 2008, Iridium had more than 280,000 subscribers worldwide,
a 38 percent increase over the June 30, 2007 total of 203,000.
The truly global coverage that only Iridium offers continues to be a
differentiating factor when it comes to growth in the MSS market. Iridium
users who operate in Polar Regions generate more than 20 percent of the
company's total annual commercial circuit-switched voice and data usage
revenue. For example, this truly global communications capability is critical
to the aviation industry. In the last five years, cross-polar flights have
grown in importance, providing millions of dollars in fuel savings and
significantly reducing the number of flight hours between city-pairs. As the
number of cross-polar flights has increased, so has the importance of total,
continuous and reliable communications coverage.
During the second quarter of 2008, the company posted significant
increases over second quarter 2007 in voice and data usage revenues. Voice
traffic in Asia was up 82 percent, in North America it was up 50 percent and
in Europe it was up 45 percent. Iridium continued to demonstrate strong growth
in its data services business. The company's machine-to-machine (M2M) data
revenue grew 92 percent while subscribers grew 154 percent, making Iridium an
increasingly important player in this nascent market.
Iridium also continues to expand its base in the U.S. government voice and
data services market. In addition to having recently renewed its U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) Enhanced MSS contract, Iridium continues
development of its Netted Iridium(SM) push-to-talk voice and data service
funded under the DoD Distributed Tactical Communications Service (DTCS)
program. DTCS is a U.S. Navy-funded program designed to deliver enhanced
Iridium voice and data services in support of Over the Horizon (OTH) tactical
communication requirements. Another new application is the potential use of
the Iridium satellite network as an enhancement to the Global Positioning
System (GPS), which has become a vital tool for U.S. military operations. Use
of the Iridium constellation would give some users of the system more
satellites, greater signal strength and added precision. The U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory recently announced it awarded The Boeing Company a $153
million contract for a High Integrity GPS Technology Concept demonstration
that will leverage the Iridium constellation for significantly improved
performance over stand-alone GPS today.
Finally, Iridium continues its progress towards deploying the company's
next-generation satellite constellation, "Iridium NEXT." The company recently
announced that it down-selected to two companies -- Lockheed Martin and Thales
Alenia Space -- to participate in the final phase of its procurement process.
Iridium selected these companies based on initial, innovative constellation
design concepts; demonstrated understanding of performance requirements and
capabilities; and initial cost estimates for the manufacture and launch of
Iridium NEXT. By the middle of 2009, Iridium intends to select one prime
contractor to construct Iridium NEXT.
About Iridium Satellite
Iridium Satellite LLC (http://www.iridium.com) is the only MSS company
offering gap-free, pole-to-pole coverage over the entire globe. The Iridium
constellation of low-earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites provides
critical voice and data services for areas not served by other communication
networks. Iridium's subscriber growth has been driven by increasing demand
for reliable, secure, global communications. Iridium serves commercial markets
through a worldwide network of hundreds of distributors, and provides services
to the DoD, and other U.S. and international government agencies. The
company's customers represent a broad spectrum of industry, including
maritime, aeronautical, government/defense, public safety, utilities, oil/gas,
mining, forestry, heavy equipment and transportation. Iridium has launched a
major development program for its next-generation satellite constellation,
Iridium NEXT, which will result in continued and new Iridium MSS offerings.
The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md. and is privately held.
SOURCE Iridium Satellite LLC

Liz DeCastro of Iridium Satellite LLC, +1-301-571-6257,
liz.decastro@iridium.com