Iridium Satellite LLC said Nov. 16 it added roughly 10,500 subscribers in the third quarter 2005 to bring its total subscribers to about 137,500 as of Sept. 30. The total number of subscribers at the end of the third quarter is a 22 percent increase compared to the number of subscribers Iridium had at the end of the third quarter 2004.

Revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was up 24 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Iridium did not release specific financial information and as a privately held company, it is under no obligation to release details on its financial performance.

The company attributed the growth to recent activity during the 2005 hurricane season. “Increased usage by first responders engaged in relief efforts in the U.S. Gulf Region in September contributed to our strongest quarter for subscriber growth and equipment sales,” Iridium Chairman and CEO Carmen Lloyd said in a statement.