This year, Iridium is rolling out Iridium NTN Direct, which CEO Matt Desch says will make Iridium the first narrow-band satellite IoT service that is standardized and global. Iridium was able to deploy this standards-based service on its existing satellite network. 

Joining Via Satellite for a “Live in the Booth” interview, Desch said he sees opportunity for Iridium NTN Direct in the automotive industry, which has been hesitant to adopt proprietary technologies. 

“We’re now talking to automotive companies around the world for narrow-band applications like airbag deployment or software downloads or emergency location services. They may have other technologies over time, but cell phones don’t cover everything in the world. We would be a low-cost [service],” Desch said. 

He also gives his thoughts on the outlook on the direct-to-device (D2D) market and why he’s a pragmatist who won’t “hype” the value of Iridium’s spectrum. Desch also talks about advances in Iridium PNT, an alternative PNT service, and sizes up the recent pace of change in the satellite industry. 

Via Satellite editors Rachel Jewett and Mark Holmes interviewed Desch as part of the “Live in the Booth” series during SATShow Week on March 25.