The company launched the initiative in January 2008 to provide an opportunity for customers affected by the degradation of Globalstar’s satellite voice service to switch to Iridium’s global coverage. The program offers credits of up to $550 for North American Globalstar subscribers.
The incentive program, which originally applied to trade-ins for Iridium 9505A handsets, now offers Iridium 9555 satellite phones in exchange for Globalstar handsets. The Iridium 9555 provides enhancements over the 9505A, including an internally retractable antenna, a large illuminated weather-resistant keyboard, and SMS with predictive text-entry capability. It is also 30 percent smaller and 27 percent lighter than the 9505A.
“Thousands of users so far have participated in the trade-up program,” said Don Thoma, executive vice president of marketing. “We recognize that satellite phones are critical items for first responders in emergency situations when terrestrial landlines and cellular networks are destroyed or overburdened.”
The Trade Up to Iridium Program will last through Dec. 31, 2009. Iridium Satellite operates a constellation of low-earth orbiting, cross-linked satellites providing critical voice and data services for areas not served by terrestrial communication networks. Privately held, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md.
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