Iridium unveiled Iridium Burst, a global data broadcast service...

Burst, launched Monday, operates in Iridium’s licensed L band and uses spectrum that the company has used traditionally for its paging service, said Daniel Tillet, Iridium product line management director. “We realized there were more things that we could do with it that would make it even more valuable,” he said in an interview. It’s available as a pay-per-use service compatible with the Iridium 9602GDB receiver. Iridium offers a receiver the size of a matchbox that can be embedded in other companies’ products to use for Burst, he said. Some Iridium partners, such as NAL Research, are developing their own receivers to take advantage of Burst, he said. Satellite capabilities, like a global broadcast service, can play a major role in providing satellite services as an ancillary capability to terrestrial and other providers’ services, Tillet said. “Burst is a service that has been included in some of the things we've provided related to FirstNet,” he said, referring to the FCC’s proposed public safety network. Iridium also plans to establish Global Maritime Distress and Safety System services, he said. “Our intention is to incorporate Burst into the package of services that would be brought to bear to offer GMDSS.” NAL Research plans to offer the service to the U.S. military, said Ngoc Hoang, NAL Research president. “Our main application is to receive incoming messages anywhere on the globe,” he said. The major advantage from Burst is that it doesn’t give out a radio frequency signature, he said. “The hardware we developed has no transmitters at all and it’s truly a receive-only device.” With Burst, it’s very easy for potential users “to do due diligence and to evaluate whether it’s a solution for them because it’s a simple receive device and it’s a very easy service to send messages to,” Tillet said.