Iridium Communications Inc. completes on-air tests of Iridium NTN Direct

Iridium Communications Inc. completed on-air testing of its Iridium Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) Direct service, and the company linked the activity to plans for beta testing and commercial service in 2026.

Iridium said it was developing Iridium NTN Direct as a global, standards-based narrowband Internet of Things (IoT) (NB-IoT) and direct-to-device non-terrestrial network service, and it said Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) could extend coverage beyond terrestrial networks while chipset makers and device manufacturers could integrate standardized satellite capability into their products.

The company said the trials used new 5G waveform algorithms implemented on Iridium's software-defined satellites to support the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) protocol defined by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP); the capability was activated via a software update to the constellation, and the first mobile-originated messages were transmitted using the low power nRF9151 LTE-M/NB-IoT/NTN module from Nordic Semiconductor.

Iridium said the on-air testing leveraged a previously announced collaboration with Nordic Semiconductor and that the service was described as designed for use cases across consumer and industrial markets, including emergency and safety messaging, asset tracking, automotive and transportation monitoring, utilities, logistics, agriculture, and remote infrastructure maintenance; the company outlined potential benefits for MNOs and for chipset makers and OEMs.

“Iridium NTN Direct is no longer a concept, it's on the air, sending messages, and now being rigorously tested to meet our elite performance standards,” said Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium. “This successful test proves that global connectivity is no longer limited by infrastructure – we can now deploy battery-powered connected devices anywhere, using a standard, low-power module such as Nordic's nRF9151,” said Oyvind Birkenes, EVP Long-Range BU at Nordic Semiconductor.

“Our roadmap is fully aligned with Iridium's 2026 plans, and we are committed to accelerating mass-market adoption of standards-based, space-enabled IoT for everyone.” said Oyvind Birkenes, EVP Long-Range BU at Nordic Semiconductor. Iridium said it planned to continue expanding on-air testing and partner integrations as it moved toward commercial availability of Iridium NTN Direct in 2026.