S3 Group Selected to Power Iridium Communications Devices

Dublin, Ireland – S3 Group announced that Iridium Communications Inc. has selected the company to develop a new custom Integrated Circuit(IC), to be used in satellite communications devices, handsets, transceivers and modems which will operate off the current Iridium network and the Iridium NEXT system.

This S3 Group contract follows the successful technological contribution S3 Group made to the Iridium® 9602 short burst data transceiver product. S3 Group is developing an Iridium Radio Frequency (RF)custom IC using Intellectual Property(IP) from its RF and Mixed Signal portfolio, along with custom design skills, which will allow the next-generation Iridium communications devices to deliver the upgraded services enabled by the NEXT system.

"It is a pleasure to be working with Iridium again on their latest leading-edge technology,” said John O’Brien, CEO, S3 Group. “We are bringing our RF, analog and digital IC design skills to bear in this large and complex solution. The fact that S3 Group’s custom chip development can enable Iridium to achieve a significant reduction in their product bill of materials (BOM) cost is something of which we are very proud.”