Iridium Communications has launched the Iridium 9604, a three-in-one IoT module that integrates Iridium Short Burst Data satellite service, LTE-M cellular connectivity, and GNSS positioning into a single 2.6 cm x 1.6 cm x 0.24 cm (1.0 x 0.6 x 0.1 inches) package. The module consolidates functionality that typically requires three separate chips, saving up to 60 percent in board space compared to multi-chip solutions like the earlier Iridium Certus 9704 developer kit.
The 9604 supports 340-byte mobile-originated and 270-byte mobile-terminated messages over Iridium's global low Earth orbit satellite network, LTE-M (CAT-M1) with global band support and FirstNet certification in the US, and positioning via GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. The module operates across a temperature range of -40°C to 85°C (-40°F to 185°F) and uses the u-blox SARA-R5 platform form factor with a single host interface. Iridium provides a unified AT command set, SDK, and reference designs, giving developers full control over when to use satellite or cellular connectivity to optimize for cost, coverage, and power consumption.
Target applications include vessel tracking at sea with automatic cellular handoff in ports, global asset tracking with location-aware routing, energy management, precision agriculture equipment with integrated positioning, and government emergency response. The module entered beta testing earlier this year with select partners. Commercial availability is scheduled for June 2026, when the Iridium 9604 Development Kit will launch for testing and integration work.
