[11-15-07 – Satellite Today] Iridium Satellite LLC has had it’s “best quarter ever,” setting a record for subscriber additions in a three-month period, the company announced Nov. 15.
    The satellite telephone operator reported 225,000 subscribers at the end of September, a 33 percent increase over a total of 169,000 subscribers at the end of the 2006 third quarter. Iridium also posted a 36 percent increase from $54.7 million a year ago to $74.2 million in the most recent quarter.
    The company has also experienced a tremendous upswing in North American traffic following a new pricing plan and churn from other satellite communications service providers. Canadian traffic nearly doubled, and usage in the United States surged by 77 percent. Traffic in the Asia-Pacific region was up nearly 48 percent, Iridium said.
    “By continuing to grab market share from our competitor and responding to continued rapid demand for our data services and handsets, these results translated into strong financial performance with healthy double-digit increases in year-over-year subscribers, revenue and” earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Matt Desch, Iridium chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
    Globalstar Inc. reported lower service revenue and net income for the third quarter of 2007, the company announced Nov. 14.
    Globalstar reported $21.3 million of service revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30, a decrease of 22.8 percent. Globalstar also recorded an operating loss of $300,000, compared to operating income of $8.8 million during the same period in 2006. Net income for the third quarter of 2007 was $700,000, down from $2.7 million a year ago.
    These decreases were due primarily to lower retail average revenue per unit related to the introduction of unlimited satellite airtime price plans and lower equipment sales, the company said.