Iridium Communications Inc. - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012

OR

For the transition period from             to             

Commission File Number 001-33963

Iridium Communications Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 1400, McLean, Virginia 22102

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

703-287-7400

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨  No x

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold as of June 30, 2012 was approximately $460.7 million.

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding as of February 27, 2013 was 76,462,045.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2013 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the registrant’s fiscal year end of December 31, 2012, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

Year Ended December 31, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include those that express plans, anticipation, intent, contingencies, goals, targets or future development or otherwise are not statements of historical fact. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events, and they are subject to risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. The important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in this Form 10-K could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PART I

Item 1.     Business

Corporate Background

We were formed as GHL Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, in November 2007, for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination. On February 21, 2008, we consummated our initial public offering. On September 29, 2009, we acquired, directly and indirectly, all the outstanding equity of Iridium Holdings LLC, or Iridium Holdings, and changed our name from GHL Acquisition Corp. to Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium Holdings was formed under the laws of Delaware in 2000, and on December 11, 2000, Iridium Holdings, through its wholly owned subsidiary Iridium Satellite LLC, or Iridium Satellite, acquired certain satellite assets from Iridium LLC, a non-affiliated debtor in possession, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement. We refer to Iridium Holdings, together with its direct and indirect subsidiaries, as Iridium.

Business Overview

We are the second largest provider by revenue of mobile voice and data communications services via satellite, and the only commercial provider of communications services offering true global coverage. Our satellite network provides communications services to regions of the world where existing wireless or wireline networks do not exist or are limited, including remote land areas, open ocean, the polar regions and regions where the telecommunications infrastructure has been affected by political conflicts or natural disasters.

We provide voice and data communications services to businesses, the U.S. and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers via our constellation of 66 in-orbit satellites, in-orbit spares and related ground infrastructure. We utilize an interlinked mesh architecture to route traffic across our satellite constellation using radio frequency crosslinks between satellites. This unique architecture minimizes the need for ground facilities to support the constellation, which facilitates the global reach of our services and allows us to offer services in countries and regions where we have no physical presence.

Our commercial end user base, which we view as our primary growth engine, is diverse and includes markets such as emergency services, maritime, government, utilities, oil and gas, mining, recreation, forestry, construction and transportation. Many of our end users view our products and services as critical to their daily operations and integral to their communications and business infrastructure. For example, multinational corporations in various sectors use our services for business telephony, e-mail and data transfer services and to provide mobile communications services for employees in areas inadequately served by terrestrial networks. Ship crews and passengers use our services for ship-to-shore calling as well as to send and receive e-mail and data files, and to receive electronic media, weather reports, emergency bulletins and electronic charts. Shipping operators use our services to manage operations on-board ships and to transmit data, such as course, speed and fuel stock. Aviation-based end users use our services for air-to-ground telephony and data communications for position reporting, emergency tracking, weather information, electronic flight bag updates and fleet information.

The U.S. government, directly and indirectly, has been and continues to be our largest single customer, generating $76.7 million in service and engineering and support service revenue, or 20% of our total revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2012. This does not include revenue from the sale of equipment that may be ultimately purchased by U.S. or non-U.S. government agencies through third-party distributors, or airtime services purchased by U.S. or non-U.S. government agencies that are provided through our commercial gateway, as we lack visibility into these activities and the related revenue.

The U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD, owns and operates a dedicated gateway in Hawaii that is only compatible with our satellite network. The U.S. armed services, State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, Customs and Border Protection, and other U.S. government agencies, as well as other nations’ governmental agencies, use our voice and data services for a wide variety of applications. Our voice and data products are used for numerous primary and backup communications solutions, including logistical, administrative, morale and welfare, tactical and emergency communications. In addition, our products are installed in ground vehicles, ships, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and are used for command and control and situational awareness purposes. Our satellite network provides increased network security to the DoD because traffic is routed across our satellite constellation before being brought down to earth through the dedicated, secure DoD gateway, thus providing additional levels of protection. Since our network was created in the mid-1990s, the DoD has made significant investments to build and upgrade its dedicated gateway and to purchase our handsets and voice and data devices, all of which are only compatible with our satellite network. In addition, the DoD continues to invest directly and indirectly in additional services on our network such as Distributed Tactical Communications Services, which we refer to as Netted Iridium^®. The DoD would have to incur significant expense to switch to a competing service provider for mobile satellite voice and data services similar to those we provide, and no other service provider can provide true global coverage or an interlinked mesh architecture that allows DoD traffic to flow through one secure, dedicated gateway.

We sell our products and services to commercial end users exclusively through a wholesale distribution network, encompassing more than 70 service providers, 175 value-added resellers, or VARs, and 50 value-added manufacturers, or VAMs, which create and sell Iridium-based technology either directly to the end user or indirectly through other service providers, VARs or dealers. These distributors often integrate our products and services with other complementary hardware and software and have developed a broad suite of applications using our products and services to target specific lines of business. We expect that demand for our services will increase as more applications are developed and deployed that utilize our technology.

At December 31, 2012, we had approximately 611,000 billable subscribers worldwide, representing a 17% increase compared to December 31, 2011. Total revenue decreased slightly from $384.3 million in 2011 to $383.5 million in 2012.

Industry

We compete in the mobile satellite services sector of the global communications industry. Mobile satellite services operators provide voice and data services to people and machines on the move or in fixed locations using a network of satellites and ground facilities. Mobile satellite services are intended to fill users’ needs for connectivity in all locations. Customers typically use satellite voice and data communications in situations where existing terrestrial wireline and wireless communications networks do not exist, do not provide sufficient coverage, or are impaired. Further, many regions of the world benefit from satellite networks, such as rural and developing areas that lack adequate wireless or wireline networks, ocean and polar regions where few alternatives exist, and regions where the telecommunications infrastructure has been affected by political conflicts or natural disasters.

Government organizations, including military and intelligence agencies and disaster response agencies, non-governmental organizations and industrial operations and support teams depend on mobile and fixed voice and data satellite communications services on a regular basis. Businesses with global operations require reliable communications services when operating in remote locations around the world. Mobile satellite services users span many sectors, including emergency services, maritime, aviation, government, utilities, oil and gas, mining, recreation, forestry, construction and transportation, among others. Many of our customers view satellite communications services as critical to their daily operations.

We believe that increasing penetration will provide a significant market opportunity for the mobile satellite services industry. According to an October 2012 report produced by Wireless Intelligence for the GSM Association, total mobile connections were expected to reach 6.8 billion throughout the world as of the fourth quarter of 2012. We believe that growth in the terrestrial wireless industry has increased awareness of the need for reliable mobile voice and data communications services. In addition, despite significant penetration and competition, terrestrial wireless systems only serve a small fraction of the earth’s surface and are focused mainly in those areas where people live, excluding oceans and other remote regions where ships, airplanes and other remote assets may be in transit or are located. By offering mobile communications services with global voice and data coverage, mobile satellite service providers address the demand from businesses, governments and individuals for connectivity and reliability in locations not consistently served by wireline and wireless terrestrial networks.

The mobile satellite services industry also benefits from the continued development of innovative, lower cost technology and applications integrating mobile satellite products and services. We believe that growth in demand for mobile satellite services is driven in large part by the declining cost of these services, the diminishing size and lower costs of voice, data and machine-to-machine, or M2M, devices, the rollout of new applications tailored to the specific needs of customers across a variety of markets, and the growing number of countries that license and permit mobile satellite services to be deployed in their territories..

Communications industry sectors include:

Within the major satellite sectors, fixed satellite services and mobile satellite services operators differ significantly from each other with respect to size of antenna and types of services offered. Fixed satellite services providers, such as Intelsat S.A., Eutelsat Communications S.A. and SES S.A., are characterized by large, often stationary or fixed ground terminals that send and receive high-bandwidth signals to and from the satellite network for video and high-speed data customers and international telephone markets. By contrast, mobile satellite services providers, such as us, Inmarsat plc, Globalstar, Inc., and ORBCOMM Inc. focus more on voice and data services, where mobility and small-sized terminals are essential.

A LEO system, such as the system we operate, generally has lower transmission delays than a GEO system, such as that operated by Inmarsat, due to the shorter distance signals have to travel, which also enables the use of smaller antennas on mobile devices. We believe the unique interlinked mesh architecture of our constellation, combined with the global footprint of our satellites, distinguishes us from other regional LEO satellite operators such as Globalstar and ORBCOMM, by allowing us to route voice and data transmissions to and from anywhere on the earth’s surface via a single gateway. As a result, we are the only mobile satellite services operator offering real-time, low-latency services with true global coverage, including full coverage of the polar regions.

Our Competitive Strengths

Our Business and Growth Strategies

Distribution Channels

We sell our products and services to customers through a wholesale distribution network of more than 70 service providers, 175 VARs and 50 VAMs. These distributors sell our products and services to end users, either directly or indirectly through service providers, VARs or dealers. Of these distributors, approximately 25 sell primarily to U.S. and international government customers. Our distributors often integrate our products and services with other complementary hardware and software and have developed individual solutions targeting specific lines of business. We also sell airtime services directly to U.S. government customers, including the DoD, for resale to other government agencies. The U.S. government and international government agencies may purchase additional services as well as our products and related applications through our network of distributors.

We provide our distributors with support services, including assistance with coordinating end user sales, strategic planning and training and second-tier customer support, as well as helping them respond to new opportunities for our products and services. We have representatives covering three regions around the world to better manage our distributor relationships: the Americas, which includes North, South and Central America; Asia Pacific, which includes Australia and Asia; and Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia. We have also established a global support service program to provide portside service for Iridium OpenPort^® maritime customers at major ports worldwide. In addition, we maintain various online management tools that allow us to communicate efficiently with our distributors, and allow them to manage their customers’ Iridium devices from anywhere in the world. By relying on our distributors to manage end user sales, we believe that we reduce some of the risks and costs related to our business, such as consumer credit risk and sales and marketing costs, while providing a broad and expanding distribution network for our products and services with access to diverse and geographically dispersed niche markets. We are also able to rely on the specialized expertise of our distributors, who continue to develop innovative and improved solutions and applications integrating our product and service offerings, providing us with an attractive platform to support our growth.

Commercial Markets

We view our commercial end user base as our primary growth engine. Service providers and VARs serve as our main distribution channel by purchasing our products and services and marketing them directly to their customers or indirectly through independent dealers. They are each responsible for customer billing, end user customer care, managing credit risk and maintaining all customer account information. If our service providers or VARs provide our services through dealers, these dealers will often provide such services directly to the end user. Service providers typically purchase our most basic products and services, such as mobile voice services and related satellite handsets, and offer additional services such as voice mail. Unlike service providers, our VARs typically focus more on data applications and provide a broader array of value-added services specifically targeted to the niche markets they serve, such as maritime, M2M, aviation and government markets, where high-use customers with specialized needs are concentrated. These VARs integrate our handsets, transceivers, high-speed data devices and short-burst data modems with other hardware and software to create packaged solutions for end users. Examples of these applications include cockpit voice and data solutions for use by the aviation sector and voice, data and tracking applications for industrial customers, the DoD and other U.S. and international government agencies. Our service providers include dedicated satellite service providers such as Astrium (an EADS company) and Inmarsat, as well as some of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, including Telstra Corporation Limited, KDDI Corporation and Singapore Telecommunications Limited. Our VARs include AirCell Inc., ARINC Incorporated, Blue Sky Network, LLC, DeLorme Publishing Company Inc., General Dynamics Corporation, Joubeh Technologies Inc., Kore Telematics Inc., NAL Research Corporation and Zunibal S.A.

We also sell our products to VAMs, who integrate our transceivers into their propriety hardware and software. These VAMs produce specialized equipment, including integrated ship communications systems, global asset tracking devices and secure satellite handsets, such as our Iridium 9505A handset coupled with U.S. National Security Agency Type I encryption capability, which they offer to end users in maritime, aviation, government and M2M markets. As with our service providers and VARs, VAMs sell their products either directly or through other distributors, including some of our service providers and VARs. Our VAMs include Applied Satellite Engineering, Inc., Beam Communications Pty Ltd., Digi International, Inc., InovarEMS, International Communications Group, Inc., ITT Exelis, Quake Global, Inc. and Thrane & Thrane A/S.

In addition to VARs and VAMs, we maintain relationships with more than 35 value-added developers, or VADs. We typically provide technical information to these companies on our products and services, which they then use to develop software and hardware that complements our products and services in line with the specifications of our VARs and VAMs. These products include handset docking stations, airline tracking and flight management applications and crew e-mail applications for the maritime industry. We believe that working with VADs allows us to create new platforms for our products and services and increases our market opportunity while reducing our overall research and development, marketing and support expenses. Our VADs include Active Web Solutions Inc., Global Marine Networks, LLC, Hirschmann Automation and Controls, Inc., Maxtena, Inc. and Ontec Inc.

We maintain a pricing model for our commercial products and services with a consistent wholesale rate structure. Under our distribution agreements, we charge our distributors wholesale rates for commercial products and services, subject to discount and promotional arrangements and geographic pricing. We also charge fixed monthly access fees per subscriber for some of our services. Our distributors are in turn responsible for setting their own pricing to their customers. Our agreements with distributors typically have terms of one year and are automatically renewable for additional one-year terms, subject to termination rights. We believe this business model provides incentives for distributors to focus on selling our commercial product and service portfolio and developing additional applications. An additional benefit of this model is simplicity. This model reduces back-office complexities and costs and allows distributors to remain focused on revenue generation.

Our two largest distributors, Astrium and Inmarsat, each represented 10% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Government Markets

We provide mission-critical mobile satellite products and services to all military branches of the DoD as well as other U.S. government departments and agencies. These users require voice and two-way data capability with global coverage, low latency, mobility and security and often operate in areas where no other terrestrial or wireless means of communications are available. We believe we are well-positioned to satisfy demand from these users. Our 9505A satellite handset is the only commercial, mobile handheld satellite phone that is capable of Type I encryption accredited by the U.S. National Security Agency for Top Secret voice communications. In addition, the DoD has made significant investments in a dedicated gateway that provides operational security and allows users of encrypted DoD handsets to communicate securely with other U.S. government communications equipment. These investments include upgrading the gateway to take advantage of the enhanced capabilities of Iridium NEXT. This gateway is only compatible with our satellite network.

We provide Iridium airtime and airtime support to U.S. government and other authorized customers pursuant to our Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services, or EMSS, contract managed by the DoD’s Defense Information Systems Agency, or DISA. The contract, entered into in April 2008, provides for a one-year base term and up to four additional one-year options exercisable at the election of the U.S. government. The U.S. government exercised all of the options, and the final EMSS contract option will expire on March 31, 2013, though based on federal acquisition regulations, the government has the ability to extend the agreement for six months, through September 30, 2013, and has elected to do so. We are pursuing a contract renewal with DISA to provide EMSS services after the current contract expires. The EMSS contract allows authorized customers to purchase Iridium airtime services, provided through DoD’s dedicated gateway, under a set of rate schedules tailored for each of our services, including a fixed monthly per-user fee for voice and circuit-switched data, a fixed monthly per-user fee for paging services, a tiered pricing plan, based on usage per device, for short-burst data services, and a fixed monthly per-user fee for Netted Iridium usage plus a monthly fee for each active user-defined net. The U.S. government is not required to guarantee a minimum number of users under this agreement. While we sell airtime directly to the U.S. government for resale to end users, our hardware products are sold to U.S. government customers through our network of distributors, which typically integrate them with other products and technologies.

We also provide maintenance services for the DoD gateway through a separate contract managed by DISA, the Gateway Maintenance and Support Services, or GMSS, contract, which also was entered into in April 2008. As with the EMSS contract, the GMSS contract provides for a one-year base term and up to four additional one-year options exercisable at the election of the U.S. government. The U.S. government exercised all of the options, and the final GMSS contract option will expire on March 31, 2013, though based on federal acquisition regulations, the government has the ability to extend the agreement for six months, through September 30, 2013, and has informed us that it plans to do so. We are pursuing a contract renewal with DISA to continue providing GMSS services after the current contract expires. The U.S. government may terminate the EMSS and GMSS contracts, in whole or in part, at any time. In October 2012, we were also awarded a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from DISA to upgrade the DoD gateway and ensure its compatibility with Iridium NEXT. This contract has a one-year base period and four one-year options, and has a maximum value of $47 million over the full five-year period.

U.S. government services accounted for approximately 20% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012. Our reported U.S. government revenue includes airtime revenue derived from the EMSS contract and services provided through the GMSS contract and other engineering and support contracts with the U.S. government. This revenue does not include airtime services purchased by U.S. or non-U.S. government agencies that are provided through our commercial gateway, which we report as commercial service revenue, or equipment purchased by government customers from third-party distributors. We are unable to determine the specific amount of U.S. government revenue derived from these commercial sources.

Lines of Business

The specialized needs of our global customers span many markets. Our system is able to offer our customers cost-effective communications solutions with true global coverage in areas unserved or underserved by existing telecommunications infrastructure. Our mission-critical communications solutions have become an integral part of the communications and business infrastructure of many of our end users. In many cases, our service is the only connectivity for these critical applications or is used to complement terrestrial communications solutions.

Our current principal lines of business include land-based handset, M2M, maritime, aviation, and government.

Land-based Handset

We are the leading provider of mobile satellite communications services to the land-based handset sector, providing handset services to areas not served or inconsistently served by existing terrestrial communications networks. In a 2012 report, Northern Sky Research estimated that approximately 708,000 satellite handsets were in operation worldwide in 2011. Mining, forestry, construction, oil and gas, utilities, heavy industry and transport companies as well as the military, public safety and disaster relief agencies constitute the largest portion of our land-based handset end users. We believe that demand for mobile communications devices operating outside the coverage of terrestrial networks, combined with our small, lightweight, durable handsets with true global coverage, will allow us to capitalize on growth opportunities among these users.

Our land-based handset end users utilize our satellite communications services for:

Machine-to-Machine

We are one of the leading providers of satellite-based M2M services. We believe the early stage of this market and its significant under-penetration present opportunities for future growth. As with land-based handsets, our largest M2M users include mining, construction, oil and gas, utilities, heavy industry, maritime, forestry and transport companies, as well as the military, public safety and disaster relief agencies. We believe increasing demand for automated data collection processes from mobile and remote assets operating outside the coverage of terrestrial wireline and wireless networks, as well as the continued need to integrate the operation of such assets into enterprise management and information technology systems, will likewise increase demand for our M2M applications.

Our M2M services are used for:

Maritime

We believe the maritime market is one of our most significant market opportunities. End users of our services in the maritime sector include companies engaged in merchant shipping, passenger transport, fishing, energy and recreation. Merchant shipping accounts for a significant portion of our maritime revenue, as those ships spend the majority of their time at sea away from coastal areas and out of reach of terrestrial communications services. Our products and services targeting the maritime market typically have high average revenue per subscriber, with multiple users utilizing a single device. Once a system is installed on a vessel, it often generates a multi-year recurring revenue stream from the customer. As a consequence, from time to time we may offer equipment promotions or rebates to accelerate new activations and a long-term revenue stream.

We believe increased regulatory mandates and increased demand for higher-speed, low-cost data services will allow us to capitalize on growth opportunities in this market. We believe Iridium Pilot^®, which uses our Iridium OpenPort service to offer uncompressed data speeds of up to 128 kbps and up to three independent voice lines, presents a cost-competitive, broadband communication alternative to end users in the maritime market.

Maritime end users utilize our satellite communications services for the following:

Aviation

We are one of the leading providers of mobile satellite communications services to the aviation sector. Our services are increasingly used in commercial and global military aviation applications, principally by corporate jets, corporate and government helicopter fleets, specialized general aviation fleets, such as medevac companies and fire suppression and other specialized transport fleets, and high-end personal aircraft. Our services are also employed by commercial airline operators for cockpit voice and data link services for aircraft operational and safety communications. As a result of the 2011 FAA announcement that it will approve Iridium for flight safety data communications, commercial operators are installing Iridium-based avionics on the flight deck to enable air navigation services datalinks for position reporting and other safety information. Our voice and data devices from our VAMs and VADs have become factory options for a range of airframe manufacturers in business aviation and air transport, such as Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Bombardier Inc. and Cessna Aircraft Company, and have become standard equipment on some aircraft models. Our devices are also installed in the aftermarket on a variety of aircraft.

Aviation end users utilize our satellite communications services for:

Government

We are one of the leading providers of mobile satellite communications services to the U.S. government, principally the DoD. We provide mobile satellite products and services to all branches of the U.S. armed forces. Our voice products are used for a variety of primary and backup communications solutions, including logistical, administrative, morale and welfare, and emergency communications. In addition, our products and related applications are installed on ground vehicles, ships, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, embedded in unattended sensors and used for command and control and situational awareness purposes. Global security concerns are among the factors driving demand for our products and services in this sector. See “—U.S. Government Services” for more information.

Seasonality

Our business is subject to seasonal usage changes for commercial customers, and we expect it to be affected by similar seasonality going forward. March through October are typically the peak months for commercial voice traffic and related subscriber equipment sales, given the predominance of population and activity in the northern hemisphere. U.S. government usage and commercial M2M usage have been less subject to seasonal changes.

Services and Products

At December 31, 2012, we had approximately 611,000 billable subscribers worldwide. Our principal services are mobile satellite services, including mobile voice and data services, M2M services and high-speed data. Sales of our commercial services collectively accounted for approximately 55% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012. We also sell related voice and data equipment to our customers, which accounted for approximately 25% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012. In addition, we offer services to U.S. government customers, including the DoD. U.S. government services accounted for approximately 20% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Commercial Services

Postpaid Mobile Voice and Data Satellite Communications Services

We sell our mobile voice and data services to service providers and VARs who in turn offer such services to end users, either directly or indirectly through dealers, using various packaged solutions such as monthly plans with differing price levels that vary depending upon expected usage. In exchange for these services, we typically charge service providers and VARs a monthly access fee per subscriber, as well as usage fees for airtime minutes used by their respective subscribers. A small number of our postpaid customers purchase monthly blocks of airtime minutes that must be used in a given month or are forfeited. In September 2011, we launched Iridium AxcessPoint, a portable and lightweight Wi-Fi hotspot accessory that connects smartphones or laptops to the Iridium network using an Iridium Extreme or Iridium 9555 satellite handset. This accessory uses postpaid circuit-switched data services, and we believe it increases the use of data services through the handsets.

Prepaid Mobile Voice Satellite Communications Services

We also offer mobile voice services to service providers and VARs through prepaid plans. Service providers and VARs pay us in advance for defined blocks of airtime minutes with expiration periods in various configurations, typically one year. These services are then generally sold to subscribers in the form of prepaid scratch cards and e-vouchers that enable subscribers to use our services on a per-minute basis. Unused minutes are forfeited on the applicable expiration date. We believe service providers and VARs are drawn to these services because they enable greater cost control by eliminating the need for monthly billings and reducing collection costs, and can be sold in countries where credit may not be readily available for end users. Our distributors often offer our prepaid voice services through fixed devices to subscribers in rural villages, at remote industrial, commercial and residential sites and on ships at sea, among other places. Fixed voice satellite communications services are in many cases an attractive alternative to handheld mobile satellite communications services in situations where multiple users will access the service within a defined geographic area and terrestrial wireline or wireless service is not available. Fixed phones, for example, can be configured as pay phones that accept prepaid scratch cards and can be installed at a central location, for example in a rural village or maritime vessel.

Broadband Data Services

Our broadband data service, Iridium OpenPort, offers maritime and aviation end users speeds of up to 128 kbps and up to three independent voice lines that can be used simultaneously without interference. We believe Iridium OpenPort offers a competitive alternative to other satellite broadband services that offer fewer features at higher costs. Data rates on this service can be adjusted up or down at any time without making hardware or software changes, giving subscribers options that allow them to balance needs for data transmission speeds against cost considerations on a real-time basis. In conjunction with our distributors, we offer additional services that permit service providers and VARs to offer complete integrated solutions for prepaid calling, e-mail and IP-based data communications. For example, in January 2012, KVH Industries, Inc., one of our distribution partners, began offering a product that integrates Iridium OpenPort with its mini-VSAT^SM broadband service to provide backup connectivity when the mini-VSAT terminal is out of its coverage area or out of service. For our Iridium OpenPort service, we typically charge service providers and VARs a monthly access fee per subscriber as well as usage fees for airtime minutes used by the respective subscribers above their monthly quotas.

Machine-to-Machine Services

Our M2M services are designed to address the market need for a small and cost-effective solution for sending and receiving data, such as location, from fixed and mobile assets in remote locations to a central monitoring station. This service operates through a two-way short-burst data transmission between our network and a telemetry unit, which may be located, for example, on a container in transit or a buoy monitoring oceanographic conditions. The small size of the units makes them attractive for use in applications such as tracking asset shipments, monitoring unattended remote assets, including oil and gas assets, vehicle tracking and mobile security. We sell our M2M services to our distributors, who in turn offer them to a number of U.S. and international governmental agencies, including NOAA, as well as commercial and other entities such as Schlumberger Limited and ConocoPhillips. Increasingly, our M2M modems are being built into products for consumer markets, such as personal location devices that provide two-way messaging. As with our mobile voice and data offerings, we typically charge service providers and VARs a monthly access fee per subscriber as well as usage fees for data used by their respective subscribers.

Other Services

In addition to access and usage fees, we generate revenue from several ancillary services related to our core service offerings, such as inbound connections from the public switched telephone network, or PSTN, short message services, or SMS, subscriber identity module, or SIM, activation, customer reactivation and other peripheral services. We also provide research and development services to assist customers in developing new technologies compatible with our system, which we may leverage for use in service and product offerings in the future. We charge our distributors fees for these services.

We also offer hosted payload services on our next-generation constellation, Iridium NEXT, which will replace our current satellite constellation. We have entered into agreements with our subsidiary, Aireon, to host its ADS-B payload on our satellites in exchange for hosting cost reimbursement fees plus recurring service revenue to be paid during the life of the hosted application.

U.S. Government Services

We provide U.S. government customers bulk access to our services, including voice, netted voice, data, messaging and paging services, as well as maintenance services for the DoD’s dedicated gateway. We provide airtime to U.S. government subscribers through DoD’s gateway, under a set of rate schedules tailored for each of our services, including a fixed monthly per-user fee for voice and circuit-switched data, a fixed monthly per-user fee for paging services, a tiered pricing plan, based on usage per device, for short-burst data services, and a fixed monthly per-user fee for Netted Iridium usage plus a monthly fee for each activity user-defined net. To comply with U.S. government regulations, we ensure handsets sold for use by the U.S. government are manufactured in the United States. U.S. government customers procure our voice and data products through our network of distributors. Our VARs and VAMs typically integrate our products with other products, which they then offer to U.S. government customers as customized products. Our voice and data solutions include:

With funding support from the DoD, we continue to invest in research and development to develop new products and applications for use by all branches of the U.S. armed forces. In conjunction with the U.S. Navy, we and our distribution partners offer Netted Iridium, which uses a line of radio-only devices that permit beyond-line-of-sight push-to-talk group calling services for a user-defined group, or net. We expect Netted Iridium to provide us with the potential for future new commercial applications in public safety, fishing and field worker communications.

Our Products

We offer a broad array of voice and data products for customers that work worldwide. In most cases, our devices or an antenna must be located outside and within view of a satellite to be able to access our network.

Satellite Handsets

Our principal handset offerings are the Iridium 9555 and Iridium Extreme satellite handset phones, which are similar in functionality to ordinary cellular phones but with the solid, durable feel that many satellite phone users demand. We believe our reputation for industrial-strength products is critical for customers, many of whom are located in the most inhospitable spots on the planet and require rugged and reliable communications equipment.

Iridium 9555. The Iridium 9555 provides voice, SMS and data connectivity. This model introduced several features including a larger, brighter screen, improved SMS and e-mail capabilities, an integrated antenna and speakerphone. The Iridium 9555 weighs 9.4 ounces and offers up to 3.1 hours of talk time. The Iridium 9555 has an industrial feel, with a rugged housing to protect its sophisticated satellite transceiver.

Iridium Extreme. The Iridium Extreme adds to the Iridium 9555’s capabilities by providing a rugged exterior that meets DoD Military Standard 810F for durability, a dedicated, two-way emergency SOS button and fully integrated GPS and location-based services. These extra features are provided in a handset that is even smaller than the Iridium 9555, weighing 8.7 ounces and offering up to 4 hours of talk time. An emergency response service provided by GEOS Travel Safety Group, or GEOS, is included with the purchase of the phone and airtime usage. The two-way emergency SOS button initiates a phone call and an emergency message via SMS to GEOS, which then coordinates with local emergency responders.

We expect these handsets to maintain our competitive position as premium offerings in the market due to their capabilities, mobility, reliability and global coverage. In addition to these phones, we manufacture the Iridium 9505A handset, which is qualified for sale to U.S. government customers, and in January 2012 we introduced a variant of the Iridium 9555 handset that is qualified for sale to U.S. government customers. We also introduced a variant of the Iridium Extreme handset in October 2012 that is qualified for sale to U.S. government customers.

Wi-Fi Accessories

Our suite of Iridium AxcessPoint products and services, including the Iridium AxcessPoint Wi-Fi hotspot accessory, the free Iridium AxcessPoint Mail & Web optimization software and the Iridium AxcessPoint Connect downloadable application, complements our handset offerings.

Iridium AxcessPoint. Iridium AxcessPoint is a portable and lightweight Wi-Fi hotspot accessory that connects smartphones or laptops to the Iridium network using an Iridium Extreme or Iridium 9555 satellite phone.

Iridium AxcessPoint Mail & Web. Iridium AxcessPoint Mail & Web software optimizes e-mail and Internet services on Apple iOS and Android OS devices and Windows and Mac laptops when those devices are connected over the Iridium network using Iridium AxcessPoint.  The software provides efficient use of time on the Iridium network by automatically setting up a data call and using data compression to improve the effective speed of a connection.

Iridium AxcessPoint Connect. Iridium AxcessPoint Connect is a downloadable application that turns any Windows laptop into a global Wi-Fi hotspot when connected to an Iridium Extreme or Iridium 9555 satellite phone. Iridium AxcessPoint Connect enables Wi-Fi-compatible devices to synchronize and respond to e-mail, or use the Internet, over the Iridium network.

We believe the Iridium AxcessPoint suite of products increases the use of our services by enabling end users to connect the consumer devices they already own more easily over the Iridium network.

Voice and Data Modems

We also offer a combined voice transceiver and data modem, which our distributors integrate into a variety of communications solutions that are deployed in different applications around the world. Our principal offering in this space is the Iridium 9522B L-Band transceiver, which utilizes the transceiver core of our Iridium 9555 satellite handset. In March 2012, we introduced the Iridium Core 9523 L-Band transceiver, which utilizes the smaller form factor transceiver core of our Iridium Extreme satellite handset. The Iridium Core 9523 complements the Iridium 9522B by providing a small voice and data module that can be integrated with other components to create a modem tailored for typical VAM applications as well as specific applications, such as a dual-mode terrestrial radio and satellite phone or M2M applications that require more data functionality. Our principal customers for our L-Band transceivers are VAMs, who integrate them into specialized devices that access our network.

Broadband Data Devices

Our Iridium Pilot terminal provides up to three independent voice lines and an Ethernet data port configurable for data speeds from 9.6 to 128 kbps over our Iridium OpenPort service. All voice and data capabilities can be used at the same time. Our principal customers for Iridium Pilot are service providers who integrate the device with their own hardware and software products to provide a suite of customer-focused voice and IP-based data packages for ship business, crew calling and e-mail. We believe the low cost of our Iridium Pilot terminal, combined with our high bandwidth and flexible configuration options, will allow us to grow our share of the existing maritime market while opening up new market sectors, such as luxury yachts, tug boats and other fishing and cruising vessels for which traditional marine satellite systems have typically been too costly. We also believe Iridium Pilot will be a growing complement to maritime Very Small Aperture Terminal, or VSAT, systems providing broadband and unlimited data services for ships, where Iridium Pilot can fill in coverage gaps, provide services where the VSAT terminal is not licensed to operate, and provide an alternate channel for VSAT maintenance and configuration.

Machine-to-Machine Data Devices

Our principal M2M devices are the Iridium 9602 and 9603 full-duplex short-burst data transceivers. The Iridium 9602 is a small data device with two-way transmission, capable of sending packet data to and from any point in the world with low latency. The principal customers for our Iridium 9602 data modems are VARs and VAMs, who embed the Iridium 9602 into their tracking, sensor, and data applications and systems, such as asset tracking systems. The Iridium 9602 is often combined with a GPS receiver to provide location information to customer applications. In May 2012, we introduced the Iridium 9603, an even smaller transceiver that is functionally identical to the Iridium 9602. In addition, an increasing number of VARs and VAMs are including a terrestrial global system for mobile communication (GSM) packet radio service modem as part of their Iridium applications to provide low cost cellular data transmission when available. These types of multiband applications are adopted by end users who require the ability to regularly transfer data but operate in areas with inconsistent cellular coverage. We provide gap-filler coverage for these applications, allowing users to operate anywhere on the globe. We continue to invest in research and development to develop smaller, lighter products in this market.

Device Development and Manufacturing

We contract with Cambridge Consulting Ltd. and other suppliers to develop all of our devices, and with two contract manufacturers, to manufacture all of our devices in facilities in Thailand, Malaysia and the United States. Pursuant to our contracts with these manufacturers, we may be required to purchase excess materials at cost plus a contractual markup if the materials are not used in production within the periods specified in the agreement. The manufacturers generally repurchase the materials from us at the same price we paid, as required for the production of the devices. Our agreements with these manufacturers are automatically renewable for additional one-year terms unless terminated by either party. We generally provide our distributors with a warranty on subscriber equipment for one to five years from the date of activation, depending on the product. We also utilize other suppliers, some of which are available only from one source, to manufacture some of the component parts of our devices.

In addition to our principal products, we also offer a selection of accessories for our devices, including extended-life batteries, holsters, earbud headphones, portable auxiliary antennas, antenna adaptors, USB data cables and charging units, among others. We purchase these products from several third-party suppliers either pursuant to contractual agreements or off the shelf at market prices.

Our Spectrum

We hold licenses to use 8.725 MHz of continuous spectrum in the L-Band, which operates at 1.6 GHz, and allows for two-way communication between our devices and our satellites. In addition, we are authorized to use 200 MHz of K-Band (23 GHz) spectrum for satellite-to-satellite communications, known as inter-satellite links, and 400 MHz of Ka-Band spectrum (19.4 GHz to 19.6 GHz and 29.1 to 29.3 GHz) for two-way communication between our satellites and our gateways, known as feeder links. In February 2013, we filed an application for an additional 1.775 MHz of spectrum to increase our total amount to 10.5 MHz of continuous spectrum. Our products and services are offered in over 100 countries, and we and our distributors continue to seek authorizations in additional countries. Access to this spectrum enables us to design satellites, network and terrestrial infrastructure enhancements cost effectively because each product and service can be deployed and sold worldwide.

Our use of spectrum is globally coordinated and recorded by, and subject to the frequency rules and regulations of, the International Telecommunication Union, or ITU. The ITU is the United Nations organization responsible for worldwide co-operation in the telecommunications sector. In order to protect satellite systems from harmful radio frequency interference from other satellite systems, the ITU maintains a Master International Frequency Register of radio frequency assignments. Each ITU administration is required to give notice of, coordinate and record its proposed use of radio frequency assignments with the ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau. The coordination negotiations are conducted by the national administrations with the assistance of satellite operators. When the coordination process is completed, the ITU formally notifies all proposed users of frequencies and orbital locations in order to protect the recorded assignments from subsequent nonconforming or interfering uses by member states of the ITU. Only member states have full standing within this inter-governmental organization. Filings to the ITU for our current constellation have been made on our behalf by the United States.

The ITU also controls the assignment of country codes used for placing telephone calls between different countries. Our network has been assigned the 8816 and 8817 country codes and uses these numbers for calling and communications between terminals.

Domestic and Foreign Revenue

We supply services and products to customers in a number of foreign countries. We allocate revenue geographically based on where we invoice our distributors, whom we bill for mobile satellite services and related equipment sales, and not according to the location of the end user. These distributors sell services directly or indirectly to end users, who may be located elsewhere. It is not possible for us to determine the geographical distribution of revenue from end users, as we do not contract directly with them. Substantially all of our revenue is invoiced in U.S. dollars. The table below sets forth the percentage of our revenue by country for the last three years:

For more information about our revenue from sales to foreign and domestic customers, see Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements.

Traffic Originating Outside the United States

A significant portion of our voice and data traffic originates outside the United States. The table below sets forth the percentage of our commercial voice and data traffic originating outside the United States, excluding Iridium OpenPort traffic, for the last three years.

Our Network

Current Constellation

Our satellite network includes 66 in-orbit LEO satellites, in addition to five in-orbit spares. We also maintain a non-service in-orbit spare, which we use for testing purposes. The satellites operate in six orbital planes of eleven vehicles each in nearly circular polar orbits. Our operational satellites orbit at an altitude of approximately 483 miles (778 kilometers) above the earth and travel at approximately 16,689 mph, resulting in a complete orbit of the earth approximately every 100 minutes. The design of our constellation ensures that generally at least one satellite is visible to subscribers from any point on the earth’s surface, covering all of the world’s population. While our constellation offers true global coverage, most of our satellite services are not available in locations where a satellite signal cannot be transmitted or received or when the device or antenna does not have a direct line of sight to a satellite, such as inside a building.

Our constellation is unique among commercial constellations in its usage of radio frequency crosslinks between our satellites. These crosslinks enable each satellite to communicate with up to four other satellites in space, two in the same orbital plane and two in adjacent planes. Our traffic is generally routed automatically between satellites, which minimizes the ground infrastructure necessary to support the constellation by allowing the satellite that is then passing over the ground station to transmit all traffic to and from the rest of the satellite constellation to terrestrial-based networks such as the PSTN. This interlinked architecture enables our primary ground station gateway to support most commercial traffic globally.

We believe our interlinked satellite infrastructure provides several advantages over networks that rely on multiple terrestrial gateways like Globalstar’s and ORBCOMM’s networks. We have the only satellite network with true global coverage, and our constellation is less vulnerable to single points of failure, since traffic can be routed around any one satellite problem to complete the communications path. In addition, the small number of ground stations increases the security of our constellation, a factor that makes our network particularly attractive to government institutions and large enterprises. The low orbit of our constellation also allows our network to operate with low latency and with smaller antennas due to the proximity of our satellites to the earth.

Our constellation provides significant coverage overlap for mitigation of service gaps from individual satellite outages, particularly at higher northern and southern latitudes. Each satellite was designed with a high degree of on-board subsystem robustness, an on-board fault detection system, and isolation and recovery capabilities for safe and quick risk mitigation. Our ability to reconfigure the orbital location of each satellite provides us with operating flexibility and enhances our ability to maintain a commercially acceptable level of service. If a satellite should fail or become unusable, in most cases, we can reposition one of our in-orbit spare satellites to take over its functions. If there is an in-orbit spare located in the orbital plane of the failed satellite, such repositioning can often be accomplished within days, with minimal impact on our services. If there is no in-orbit spare located in the relevant orbital plane, redeploying an in-orbit spare into the affected plane will take at least one year. The design of our space and ground control system facilitates the real-time intervention and management of the satellite constellation and service upgrades via software enhancements.

Our commercial gateway is located in Tempe, Arizona. This gateway has multiple earth terminals that communicate with our satellites and pass calls seamlessly between gateway earth terminals and satellites as the satellites traverse the gateway, thereby connecting signals from the terminals of end users to our gateway. Gateways enable dedicated communications links that are not dependent on localized terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure where subscribers are using our services. Gateways also generate and control all user information pertaining to our registered users, such as user identity, geo-location and call detail records. The DoD owns and operates a dedicated gateway for U.S. government users to take advantage of this capability. This gateway provides an interface between voice and data devices and the Defense Information Systems Network and other terrestrial infrastructure, providing DoD users with secure communications capabilities. We are also working on a new gateway in Russia. We have received authorization from Russian authorities to commence commercial operations in Russia and expect to launch service in Russia during the first half of 2013, while work on our new gateway proceeds. We have also had discussions to build or reactivate additional gateways in other countries, such as China and India, that require gateways in their jurisdictions. These gateways would connect the commercial traffic to the constellation coming to and from their territory.

We operate our satellite constellation from our satellite network operations center in Leesburg, Virginia. This facility manages the performance and status of each of our satellites, developing and distributing routing tables for use by the satellites and gateways, directing traffic routing through the network and controlling the formation of coverage areas by the satellites’ main mission antennas. We also operate telemetry, tracking, and control stations, or TTACs, and satellite earth station facilities in Fairbanks, Alaska and Chandler, Arizona in the United States, and in northern Canada and Norway. The Alaska and Norway ground stations also provide supplemental earth terminal capability for the Tempe gateway.

From time to time, individual satellites in our constellation experience operating problems that may result in a satellite outage, but due to overlapping coverage within our constellation, the individual satellite outages typically do not negatively affect our customers’ use of our system for a prolonged period. In addition, most system processing related to our service is performed using software onboard each satellite instead of on the ground. We believe this provides us with significant flexibility and has contributed to the longevity of the system by enabling engineers to develop additional functionality and software-based solutions to occasional faults and anomalies in the system.

We have experienced nine satellite losses since we reintroduced commercial satellite services in 2001 that have resulted in the complete loss of the affected satellites or the loss of the ability of the satellite to carry traffic on the network, most recently in August 2012. Eight of these losses were from satellites that failed in orbit, and one satellite was lost as a result of a 2009 collision with a non-operational Russian satellite. To date, each time we have lost a satellite we have had an in-orbit spare available to replace it.

Based on the failures and anomalies we have experienced to date, and considering the potential for future anomalies, we believe our current constellation will provide a commercially acceptable level of service through the transition to Iridium NEXT. We expect to be able to mitigate most satellite failures through the use of the remaining in-orbit spares, the implementation of software solutions, and by landing communications traffic at our ground station in Alaska or Norway and backhauling traffic to the Tempe gateway for processing and termination. Accordingly, we believe our constellation can provide a commercially acceptable level of service with fewer than 66 satellites.

In addition to our in-orbit spare satellites, we own spare parts for some of the equipment in our gateway and TTACs. We selectively replace parts for our gateway and TTACs as necessary and maintain an inventory of spare parts which we continuously monitor. When we do not have necessary spares in inventory or our spares become obsolete, we rely on third parties to develop necessary parts.

In 2010, we entered into an amended and restated long-term operations and maintenance agreement with Boeing, which we refer to as the O&M Agreement. Under the O&M Agreement, Boeing operates and maintains our satellite constellation. The term of the O&M Agreement runs concurrently with the operational life of the current constellation. The O&M Agreement provides for annual price reductions and other cost-saving opportunities and converts the fee for Boeing’s operations and maintenance services from a fixed-price fee to a time-and-materials fee with an annual limit on amounts paid.

We have also entered into an agreement with Boeing pursuant to which Boeing provides services in support of the development of Iridium NEXT and will operate and maintain Iridium NEXT, which we refer to as the NEXT Support Services Agreement. Boeing provides these services on a time-and-materials fee basis. The term of the NEXT Support Services Agreement runs concurrently with the operational life of the Iridium NEXT constellation. We are entitled to terminate the agreement for convenience and without cause commencing in 2019.

Pursuant to an amended and restated transition services, products and asset agreement, or the TSA, with Motorola, and a separate agreement with Boeing, Motorola, and the U.S. government, we are required to maintain an in-orbit liability insurance policy with a de-orbiting endorsement to cover the de-orbiting of our satellite constellation in the amount of $500.0 million per occurrence, and $1.0 billion in the aggregate. The current policy together with the de-orbiting endorsement covers amounts that we and other specified parties may become liable to pay for bodily injury or property damage to third parties related to processing, maintaining and operating our satellite constellation and, in the case of the de-orbiting endorsement, de-orbiting the satellite constellation, although it contains exceptions for third-party damages which may result from the 2009 in-orbit satellite collision. The policy covers us, the U.S. government, Boeing, as operator of our system, Motorola Solutions, Inc., or Motorola Solutions, as successor to Motorola, and other named beneficiaries. The policy has been renewed annually since the expiration of the original policy’s three-year term in 2003 and currently expires on December 8, 2013. In addition, we maintain a separate $1.0 billion product liability policy to cover Motorola Solutions’ potential liability as manufacturer of the satellites. Given the flexibility of our satellite constellation and in-orbit spares, we do not maintain in-orbit insurance covering losses from satellite failures or other operational problems affecting our constellation.

Our current satellite constellation license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, is valid until November 2013, and we have applied for a license renewal. Under the FCC’s rules, we may continue to operate our satellite constellation beyond November 2013 pending FCC action on our renewal application. Our U.S. gateway earth station licenses expire between 2018 and 2026, and our U.S. government customer’s and commercial subscribers’ earth station licenses for end user devices will expire in 2021. We must file renewal applications for earth station licenses between 30 and 90 days prior to expiration.

Constellation De-Orbiting Obligations

When Iridium Satellite purchased the assets of Iridium LLC out of bankruptcy, Boeing, Motorola and the U.S. government required specified de-orbit rights as a way to control potential liability risk arising from future operation of our current constellation, and to provide for the U.S. government’s obligation to indemnify Motorola pursuant to the Indemnification Agreement described below. As a result, the Indemnification Agreement was entered into among Iridium Satellite, Boeing, Motorola and the U.S. government, as subsequently amended in September 2010, giving the U.S. government the right, in its sole discretion, to require us to de-orbit our constellation in the event of (a) Iridium Satellite’s failure to maintain certain insurance and pay certain insurance premiums; (b) Iridium Satellite’s bankruptcy; (c) Iridium Satellite’s sale or the sale of any major asset in our satellite system; (d) Boeing’s replacement as the operator of our satellite system; (e) Iridium Satellite’s failure to provide certain notices as contemplated by the Indemnification Agreement; or (f) at any time after January 1, 2015. Prior to the September 2010 amendment of the Indemnification Agreement, the U.S. government had the right to require us to de-orbit our constellation at any time after June 5, 2009. Pursuant to the September 2010 amendment, the U.S. government may withdraw its agreement to postpone the exercise of its de-orbit right (i) on or after January 1, 2015; (ii) if Iridium Satellite violates any terms of the Indemnification Agreement or fails to comply with any terms of the September 2010 amendment; (iii) if more than four satellites have insufficient fuel to execute a 12-month de-orbit; (iv) if Iridium Satellite fails to comply with the de-boost plans; (v) upon a finding by the FCC, not remedied by Iridium Satellite in the time set forth by the FCC, that Iridium Satellite has failed to comply with the terms of the Iridium Orbital Debris Mitigation Plan filed with the FCC and then in effect; (vi) upon the cancellation, non-renewal or refusal to provide any insurance required by the Indemnification Agreement; and (vii) upon the termination or completion of the current or any successor agreement between Iridium Satellite and the DoD pursuant to which Iridium Satellite provides mobile satellite services to the DoD. The U.S. government also has the right to require us to de-orbit any of our individual functioning satellites, including in-orbit spares, that have been in orbit for more than seven years, unless the U.S. government grants a postponement. All of our functioning satellites have been in orbit for more than seven years.

Motorola Solutions, as successor to Motorola, also has the right to require us to de-orbit our constellation pursuant to the TSA and pursuant to the O&M Agreement. Under these agreements, Motorola Solutions may require the de-orbit of our constellation upon the occurrence of any of the following: (a) the bankruptcy of our company, Iridium Holdings, Iridium Constellation LLC or Iridium Satellite; (b) Iridium Satellite’s breach of the TSA; (c) Boeing’s breach of the O&M Agreement or a related agreement between Boeing and Motorola Solutions; (d) an order from the U.S. government requiring the de-orbiting of our satellites; (e) Motorola Solutions’ determination that changes in law or regulation may require it to incur specified costs relating to the operation, maintenance, re-orbiting or de-orbiting of our constellation; or (f) our failure to obtain, on commercially reasonable terms, product liability insurance to cover Motorola Solutions’ position as manufacturer of the satellites, provided the U.S. government has not agreed to cover what would have otherwise been paid by such policy.

Pursuant to the O&M Agreement, Boeing similarly has the unilateral right to de-orbit our constellation upon the occurrence of any of the following events: (a) Iridium Constellation’s failure to pay Boeing in accordance with the terms of the O&M Agreement; (b) Iridium Constellation’s or Iridium Satellite’s bankruptcy; (c) Iridium Constellation’s failure to maintain certain insurance policies; (d) a default by Iridium Constellation under the O&M Agreement; or (e) changes in law or regulation that may increase the risks or costs associated with the operation or de-orbit process or the cost of operation or de-orbit of the constellation.

We have certain de-orbit obligations under our FCC licenses. Specifically, pursuant to an orbital debris mitigation plan incorporated into our FCC satellite constellation license in 2002, we are required to lower each satellite to an orbit with a perigee of approximately 250 kilometers as it reaches the end of its useful life and to coordinate these orbit-lowering maneuvers with the United States Space Command. We have filed a modification application with the FCC to conform our satellite end of life procedures to the less stringent 600 kilometer de-orbit standards for non-geostationary satellites that the FCC acknowledged in 2004 would serve the public interest. Our modification application remains pending. We also hold special temporary authority to operate three of our satellites according to the orbital debris mitigation plan specified in our pending modification application.

Iridium NEXT

Our satellites continue to perform well, but they have exceeded their original design lives, and we are currently developing our next-generation satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT, which we expect to commence launching in early 2015. The current constellation is expected to provide a commercially acceptable level of service through the transition to Iridium NEXT. We estimate the aggregate costs associated with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT and related infrastructure upgrades through 2017 to be approximately $3 billion. We believe our credit facility, described below, together with internally generated cash flow, including potential revenue from hosted payloads, and the proceeds from our October 2012 convertible preferred stock issuance will be sufficient to fully fund the aggregate costs associated with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure upgrades through 2017.

Full Scale Development and Launch Services Agreements

In June 2010, we executed a primarily fixed price full scale development contract, or FSD, with Thales Alenia Space France, or Thales, for the design and manufacture of satellites for Iridium NEXT. The total price under the FSD will be approximately $2.2 billion, and we expect our payment obligations under the FSD to extend into the third quarter of 2017. As of December 31, 2012, we had made total payments of $682.9 million to Thales.

In March 2010, we entered into an agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, to secure SpaceX as the primary launch services provider for Iridium NEXT. The SpaceX agreement has a maximum price of $492.0 million. In August 2012, we entered into an amendment to our launch services agreement with SpaceX. The amendment reduced the number of contracted launches and increased the number of satellites to be carried on each launch vehicle. The amendment also reduced the maximum price under the original SpaceX agreement from $492.0 million to $453.1 million. As of December 31, 2012, we had made total payments of $65.1 million to SpaceX. The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle is configured to carry ten Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit with each launch.

In June 2011, we entered into an agreement with International Space Company Kosmotras, or Kosmotras, as a supplemental launch service provider for Iridium NEXT. The Kosmotras agreement provides for the purchase of up to six launches and six additional launch options. Each launch can carry two satellites. If we purchase all six launches, we will pay Kosmotras a total of approximately $184.3 million. We expect to exercise an option for one launch for the first two Iridium NEXT satellites. Our payments to Kosmotras for the single launch would be approximately $51.8 million. If we do not purchase any additional launches by March 31, 2013, the Kosmotras agreement will terminate as to the remaining optional launches. As of December 31, 2012, we had made aggregate payments of $11.2 million to Kosmotras.

COFACE Credit Facility

On October 4, 2010, we entered into the Credit Facility with a syndicate of bank lenders. Ninety-five percent of our obligations under the Credit Facility are insured by Compagnie Française d’Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur, or COFACE, the French export credit agency. The Credit Facility consists of two tranches, with draws and repayments applied pro rata in respect of each tranche:

In connection with each draw we make under the Credit Facility, we also borrow an amount equal to 6.49% of the draw to cover the premium for the COFACE insurance policy. We also pay a commitment fee of 0.80% per year, in semi-annual installments, on any undrawn portion of the Credit Facility. Funds drawn under the Credit Facility are used for 85% of the costs under the FSD for the construction of Iridium NEXT satellites, the premium for the COFACE policy, and the payment of a portion of interest during a part of the construction and launch phase of Iridium NEXT.

Scheduled semi-annual principal repayments will begin six months after the earlier of (i) the successful deployment of a specified number of Iridium NEXT satellites or (ii) September 30, 2017. During this repayment period, we will pay interest on the same date as the principal repayments. Prior to the repayment period, interest payments are due on a semi-annual basis in April and October of each year. The Credit Facility will mature seven years after the start of the repayment period.

Our obligations under the Credit Facility are guaranteed by us and our subsidiaries that are obligors under the Credit Facility and are secured on a senior basis by a lien on substantially all of our assets and those of some of our subsidiaries.

We may not prepay any borrowings under the Credit Facility prior to December 31, 2015. If, on that date, a specified number of Iridium NEXT satellites have been successfully launched and we have adequate time and resources to complete the Iridium NEXT constellation on schedule, we may prepay the borrowings without penalty. In addition, following the completion of the Iridium NEXT constellation, we may prepay the borrowings without penalty. We may not subsequently borrow any amounts repaid. We must repay the loans in full upon (i) a delisting of our common stock, (ii) a change in control of our company or our ceasing to own 100% of any of the other obligors or (iii) the sale of all or substantially all of our assets. We must apply all or a portion of specified capital raising proceeds, insurance proceeds and condemnation proceeds to the prepayment of the loans. The Credit Facility includes customary representations, events of default, covenants and conditions precedent to our drawing of funds. The financial covenants include:

The covenants also place limitations on the ability of us and our subsidiaries to carry out mergers and acquisitions; dispose of assets; grant security interests; declare, make or pay dividends; enter into specified transactions with affiliates; fund payments under the FSD from our own resources; incur additional indebtedness; or make loans, guarantees or indemnities.

In August 2012, we entered into a supplemental agreement, or the Supplemental Agreement, with the syndicate of bank lenders, or the Lenders, under the Credit Facility. The Supplemental Agreement amended and restated the Credit Facility. The Supplemental Agreement authorizes us to fund and operate our Aireon subsidiary for the purpose of establishing a space-based ADS-B business for global aviation monitoring. Specifically, the Supplemental Agreement excludes Aireon from the group of companies (we and our material subsidiaries) that are obligors under the Credit Facility and from our consolidated financial results for purposes of calculating compliance with the financial covenants. The Supplemental Agreement allows us to make a $12.5 million investment in Aireon, the injection of up to $10 million worth of airtime credits into Aireon, if needed, as provided for in Aireon’s agreement with Harris Corporation, described below, to build the ADS-B system payloads, and an additional investment of up to $15 million raised from issuances of our common equity. The Supplemental Agreement requires us to use any net distributions that we receive from Aireon to repay the debt under the Credit Facility and to issue the Lenders a security interest in our ownership interest in Aireon.

The Supplemental Agreement also includes revised financial covenant levels to reflect changes in timing of expected receipts of cash flows from secondary payloads and other changing business conditions and revised launch and backup launch requirements consistent with the amendment to our launch services agreement with SpaceX, described above. The amendment to the Credit Facility did not modify the principal amount, interest rates, repayment dates, or maturity of the Credit Facility. The Supplemental Agreement required us to raise $100 million through a combination of the issuance of convertible preferred or common equity and warrant exercises by April 30, 2013. We satisfied this requirement primarily through the sale of our 7.00% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, or Series A Preferred Stock, in October 2012 for net proceeds of $96.5 million. We also received $9.1 million from the exercise of warrants during the third quarter of 2012.

Through March 1, 2013, our total borrowings under the Credit Facility were $751.8 million.

Harris Agreement

In June 2012, Aireon entered into an agreement with Harris Corporation for the design, development and production of the payload for each of the planned Iridium NEXT satellites. The Harris agreement does not provide for any guarantee of payment by us or Iridium Satellite LLC, but we intend to make available an injection into Aireon of up to $10 million worth of airtime credits to be used to satisfy a portion of the payments to be made by Aireon under the Harris agreement in the event that Aireon cannot make such payments.

Aireon LLC Agreement

On November 19, 2012, Iridium Satellite and Aireon entered into an Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Aireon, or the Aireon LLC Agreement, with NAV CANADA and NAV CANADA Satellite, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NAV CANADA.

Under the Aireon LLC Agreement, NAV CANADA Satellite may acquire up to a controlling interest in Aireon, which prior to the date of the Aireon LLC Agreement was a wholly owned subsidiary of Iridium Satellite. The Aireon LLC Agreement provides for the purchase by NAV CANADA Satellite of Series A preferred membership interests in five tranches representing up to 51% of the fully diluted equity of Aireon for an aggregate investment of up to $150 million. Each tranche is subject to the satisfaction of various operational, commercial, regulatory and financial conditions. NAV CANADA Satellite made its first tranche investment of $15 million in November 2012, representing 5.1% of the fully diluted equity of Aireon, with planned additional tranches of $40 million in 2013, $65 million in 2014, $15 million in 2015 and $15 million in 2017.

The Aireon LLC Agreement provides for Aireon to be managed by a seven-member board of directors. Currently, Iridium Satellite may nominate five directors, NAV CANADA may nominate one director, and one director shall be an independent director agreed to by Iridium Satellite and NAV CANADA. The Aireon LLC Agreement also provides the minority-interest holder with several protective provisions.

Competition

The mobile satellite services industry is highly competitive but has significant barriers to entry, including the cost and difficulty associated with obtaining spectrum licenses and successfully building and launching a satellite network. In addition to cost, there is a significant amount of lead-time associated with obtaining the required licenses, building and launching the satellite constellation and deploying the ground network technology. We are not aware of any other companies currently planning to enter the mobile satellite services industry. We currently face substantial competition from other service providers that offer a range of mobile and fixed communications options. Currently, our principal mobile satellite services competitors are Inmarsat, Globalstar and ORBCOMM. We compete primarily on the basis of coverage, quality, mobility and pricing of services and products.

Inmarsat has been a provider of communications services, including voice and data services, since 1982. Inmarsat owns and operates a fleet of GEO satellites. Unlike LEO satellites, GEO satellites orbit the earth at approximately 22,300 miles above the equator. GEO operators require substantially larger and more expensive antennas, and typically have higher transmission delays than LEO operators. Due to its GEO system, Inmarsat’s coverage area extends and covers most bodies of water except for a majority of the polar regions. Inmarsat is the leading provider of satellite communications services to the maritime sector. Inmarsat also offers land-based and aviation communications services.

Globalstar owns and operates a fleet of LEO satellites. Globalstar began commercial services in 2000. Globalstar’s service is available only on a multi-regional basis as a result of its “bent pipe” architecture, which requires that voice and data transmissions be routed from satellites immediately to nearby ground stations. This design requires the use of multiple ground stations, which are impractical in extreme latitudes or over oceans. Unlike Inmarsat and us, Globalstar sells a higher percentage of its products and services directly to end users. Globalstar has indicated that satellite failures and other problems affecting its constellation are currently limiting its ability to provide two-way services. Globalstar is in the process of finalizing the configuration of its second-generation satellite constellation, with launches completed in February 2013. It has currently arranged to replace only 24 of the original 48 satellites.

ORBCOMM also provides commercial services using a fleet of LEO satellites. Like Globalstar, ORBCOMM’s network also has a “bent pipe” architecture, which limits its real-time coverage area. ORBCOMM’s principal focus is low-cost data and M2M services, where it directly competes with our M2M offerings. Because a ground station may not be within view of a satellite, ORBCOMM’s services may have a significant amount of latency, which may limit their use in some mission-critical applications. It does not offer voice service or high-speed data services. Like us, ORBCOMM is developing its second-generation satellite constellation. ORBCOMM suffered the loss of all six of its most recently launched satellites and has scheduled a new launch campaign to begin in mid-2013. The launch campaign will consist of one launch in mid-2013 and a second in 2014.

We also compete with regional mobile satellite communications services in several geographic markets. In these cases, the majority of our competitors’ customers require regional, not global, mobile voice and data services, so our competitors may present a viable alternative to our services. All of these competitors operate or plan to operate GEO satellites. Our regional mobile satellite services competitors currently include Thuraya Telecommunications Co., or Thuraya, principally in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and several countries in Asia, as well as TerreStar Corporation in North America. DISH Network Corp. purchased TerreStar out of bankruptcy in 2011 and is awaiting the outcome of an FCC notice of proposed rulemaking that could allow it to operate a terrestrial wireless service. Plans for any DISH/Terrestar mobile satellite services remain unclear.

While we view our services as largely complementary to terrestrial wireline and wireless communications networks, we also compete with them indirectly. We provide service in areas that are inadequately covered by these ground systems. To the extent that terrestrial communications companies invest in underdeveloped areas, we will face increased competition in those areas. We believe that local telephone companies currently are reluctant to invest in new switches, landlines and cellular towers to expand their networks in rural and remote areas due to high costs and limited usage. Many of the underdeveloped areas are sparsely populated, making it difficult to generate the necessary returns on the capital expenditures required to build terrestrial wireless networks in those areas. We believe that our solutions offer a cost-effective and reliable alternative to terrestrial-based wireline and wireless systems in these remote regions.

Research and Development

Our research and development efforts have focused on the development, design and testing of new products and services, such as Iridium Pilot, introduced in February 2012, our Iridium Extreme handset and Iridium AccessPoint mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device, introduced in 2011, and the planning and development of the Iridium NEXT constellation and ground infrastructure. We also develop product and service enhancements and new applications for our existing products and services. Our research and development expenses were $15.5 million, $18.7 million and $19.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Employees

As of December 31, 2012, we had 211 full-time employees, none of whom is subject to any collective bargaining agreement. We consider our employee relations to be good.

Intellectual Property

At December 31, 2012, we held eight U.S. patents and one foreign patent. These patents cover several aspects of our satellite system, our global network and our devices.

In addition to our owned intellectual property, we also license critical system technology from Motorola Solutions, including software and systems to operate and maintain our network as well as technical information for the design and manufacture of our devices. This intellectual property is essential to our ability to continue to operate our constellation and sell our handsets. We also have licensed technology from Motorola Solutions relating to the development of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure, products and services. We maintain our licenses with Motorola Solutions pursuant to several agreements, which can be terminated by Motorola Solutions upon the commencement by or against us of any bankruptcy proceeding or other specified liquidation proceedings or upon our material failure to perform or comply with any provision of the agreements. If Motorola Solutions were to terminate any such agreement, it may be difficult or, under certain circumstances, impossible to obtain the technology from alternative vendors. Motorola Solutions has assigned to a third party a portion of the patents that are covered by some of these licenses.

We license additional system technology from other third parties and expect to do so in the future both in connection with our current network, products and services and with the development of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure, products and services. If any such third party were to terminate its agreement with us or cease to support and service this technology, or if we are unable to renew such licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all, it may be difficult, more expensive or impossible to obtain those services from alternative vendors. Any substitute technology may also have lower quality or performance standards, which would adversely affect the quality of our products and services. For more information, see “Risk Factors—We are dependent on intellectual property licensed from third parties to operate our constellation and sell our devices and for the enhancement of our existing products and services.”

Available Information

Copies of our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments, if any, to those reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge through our website at www.iridium.com and on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, at www.sec.gov. A request for any of these reports may also be submitted to us by writing: Investor Relations, Iridium Communications Inc., 1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 1400, McLean, VA 22102, or by calling our Investor Relations line at 703-287-7570.

ITEM 1A.     Risk Factors

Our business plan depends on increased demand for mobile satellite services, among other factors.

Our business plan is predicated on growth in demand for mobile satellite services. Demand for mobile satellite services may not grow, or may even contract, either generally or in particular geographic markets, for particular types of services or during particular time periods. A lack of demand could impair our ability to sell products and services, develop and successfully market new products and services and could exert downward pressure on prices. Any decline in prices would decrease our revenue and profitability and negatively affect our ability to generate cash for investments and other working capital needs.

Our ability to successfully implement our business plan will also depend on a number of other factors, including:

Our business plan depends in large part on the success of our subsidiary, Aireon LLC, which is our primary hosted payload customer.

In June 2012, we announced our plans to host a payload being developed by our subsidiary, Aireon LLC, as our primary hosted payload. We currently expect to rely on the cash flows generated from this hosted-payload arrangement with Aireon to satisfy a portion of our capital requirements through the development and deployment of Iridium NEXT. Aireon’s payload will be a satellite-based ADS-B system for global air traffic monitoring, and Aireon’s success will depend on its ability to successfully develop and manufacture this system. Deploying an ADS-B system on satellites is a new and unproven method for providing this service and will require significant technological development. Aireon will need to complete the development and manufacture of its ADS-B payloads in time to include them on our Iridium NEXT satellites, which we expect to begin launching in early 2015. In addition, Aireon’s success will depend on the development of the market for a space-based ADS-B service among air navigation service providers, such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Aireon will itself require significant additional capital to complete the successful development, deployment and operation of its system. The Aireon LLC Agreement provides for the purchase by NAV CANADA Satellite of additional membership interests in five tranches through late 2017 for an aggregate investment of up to $150 million. Each tranche, however, is subject to the satisfaction of various operational, commercial, regulatory and financial conditions, some of which will be out of our control, and NAV CANADA has significant discretion in the determination of whether those conditions have been met.

The management of Aireon is not entirely within our control given the significant veto rights and other protective provisions provided to NAV CANADA, and for accounting purposes, we treat Aireon as a subsidiary that we do not control. As a result, we may not be able to cause Aireon to take actions that we believe are necessary for its ultimate success.

If Aireon is not successful and fails to pay its hosting costs, our ability to pursue our business plan would be compromised unless we were able to replace those amounts with capital from other sources.

We may need additional capital to design, build and launch Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure, products and services, and to pursue additional growth opportunities. If we fail to maintain access to sufficient capital, we will not be able to successfully implement our business plan.

Our business plan calls for the development of Iridium NEXT, the development of new product and service offerings, upgrades to our current services, hardware and software upgrades to maintain our ground infrastructure and upgrades to our business systems. We estimate the costs associated with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure upgrades through 2017 to be approximately $3 billion. While we expect to fund these costs with borrowings under the Credit Facility and the proceeds from the sale of our Series A Preferred Stock, which closed on October 3, 2012, together with internally generated cash flows, including potential revenues from hosted payloads, it is possible that these sources will not be sufficient to fully fund Iridium NEXT.

Our ability to make ongoing draws under the Credit Facility will depend upon our satisfaction of various borrowing conditions from time to time, some of which will be outside of our control. In addition, there can be no assurance that our internally generated cash flows will meet our current expectations, or that we will not encounter increased costs. Among other factors leading to the uncertainty over our internally generated cash flows, Aireon may be unable to pay its hosting costs. If available funds from the Credit Facility and internally generated cash flows, including cash from hosted payload arrangements, are less than we expect, we might need to finance the remaining cost of Iridium NEXT by raising additional debt or equity financing. In addition, we may need additional capital to design and launch new products and services on Iridium NEXT. Such additional financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise such additional capital, our ability to maintain our network, design, build and launch Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure, develop new products and services and pursue additional growth opportunities will be impaired, which would significantly limit the development of our business and impair our ability to provide a commercially acceptable level of service. We expect to experience overall liquidity levels lower than our recent liquidity levels. Inadequate liquidity could compromise our ability to pursue our business plans and growth opportunities and make borrowings under the Credit Facility, delay the ultimate deployment of Iridium NEXT or otherwise impair our business and financial position.

If we fail to satisfy the ongoing borrowing conditions of the Credit Facility, we may be unable to fund Iridium NEXT.

We plan to use borrowings under the Credit Facility to partially fund the construction of our Iridium NEXT satellites, including borrowing to capitalize interest otherwise due under the Credit Facility. Our ability to continue to draw funds under the Credit Facility over time will depend on the satisfaction of borrowing conditions, including:

Some of these borrowing conditions may be outside of our control or otherwise difficult to satisfy. If we do not continue to satisfy the borrowing conditions under the Credit Facility and cannot obtain a waiver from the Lenders, we would need to find other sources of financing. We would have to seek the permission of the lenders under the Credit Facility in order to obtain many alternative sources of financing, and there can be no assurance that we would have access to other sources of financing on acceptable terms, or at all.

If we default under the Credit Facility, the lenders may require immediate repayment in full of amounts borrowed or foreclose on our assets.

The Credit Facility contains events of default, including:

Some of these events of default are outside of our control or otherwise difficult to satisfy. If we experience an event of default, the lenders may require repayment in full of all principal and interest outstanding under the Credit Facility. It is unlikely we would have adequate funds to repay such amounts prior to the scheduled maturity of the Credit Facility. If we fail to repay such amounts, the lenders may foreclose on the assets we have pledged under the Credit Facility, which includes substantially all of our assets and those of our domestic subsidiaries.

The Credit Facility restricts the manner in which we may operate our business, which may prevent us from successfully implementing our business plan.

The Credit Facility contains restrictions on the operation of our business, including limits on our ability to:

The Credit Facility also prohibits us from paying dividends to holders of our Series A Preferred Stock if we are unable to certify that we anticipate being able to comply with the financial covenants of the Credit Facility for the next 12 months each time we declare a dividend. If we are unable to make that certification, we will not be able to pay the dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock. If we do not pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock for six quarterly periods (whether or not consecutive), the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will have the power to elect two members of our board of directors, whose interest may differ from those of our other stockholders. In addition, any dividend we fail to pay will accrue, and the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to a preferential distribution of $100 per share plus all accrued and unpaid dividends before any distribution may be made to our common stockholders in connection with any liquidation event.

Complying with these restrictions may cause us to take actions that are not favorable to holders of our securities and may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business plan and compete against companies who are not subject to such restrictions.

If we are unable to effectively develop and deploy Iridium NEXT before our current satellite constellation ceases to provide a commercially acceptable level of service, our business will suffer.

We are currently developing Iridium NEXT, which we expect to commence launching in early 2015. While we expect our current satellite constellation to provide a commercially acceptable level of service through the transition to Iridium NEXT, we cannot guarantee it will do so. If we are unable to effectively deploy Iridium NEXT for any reason, whether as a result of insufficient funds, manufacturing or launch delays, launch failures, in-orbit satellite failures, inability to achieve or maintain orbital placement, failure of the satellites to perform as expected, interference between any hosted payload and our network, or delays in receiving regulatory approvals or otherwise, before our current constellation ceases to provide a commercially acceptable level of service, or if we experience backward compatibility problems with our new constellation once deployed, we would likely lose customers and business opportunities to our competitors, resulting in a material decline in revenue and profitability and the inability to service our debt.

Iridium NEXT may not be completed on time, and the costs associated with it may be greater than expected.

We estimate that the costs associated with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure upgrades through 2017 will be approximately $3 billion, although our actual costs could substantially exceed this estimate. We may not complete Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure on time, on budget or at all. The design, manufacture and launch of satellite systems are highly complex and historically have been subject to delays and cost overruns. Development of Iridium NEXT may suffer from additional delays, interruptions or increased costs due to many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including:

In addition, there can be no assurance the ground infrastructure needed to complete Iridium NEXT will be completed on-time, on budget or at all. If the design, manufacture and deployment of Iridium NEXT costs more or takes longer than we anticipate, our ability to continue to develop Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure could be compromised.

Loss of any Iridium NEXT satellite during launch could delay or impair our ability to offer our services, and launch insurance, to the extent available, will not fully cover this risk.

The launch of our Iridium NEXT satellites will be subject to the inherent risk of launch failures, which could result in the loss or destruction of one or more satellites. We have entered into our launch services agreement with SpaceX, pursuant to which SpaceX will provide launch services to us in connection with our deployment of Iridium NEXT. The SpaceX agreement contemplates seven launches of ten satellites each on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle over a two-year period. SpaceX has a limited operating history and limited financial resources, and the Falcon 9 has a limited launch history, which could expose us to delay, greater risk of launch failure or the need to utilize an alternate launch services provider, which could substantially increase our launch costs. We have also entered into a launch services agreement with Kosmotras pursuant to which Kosmotras will provide supplemental or alternative launch services for Iridium NEXT. We also expect to exercise an option to have Kosmotras launch the first two Iridium NEXT satellites. The use of Kosmotras to replace the contemplated SpaceX launches would increase our launch costs, and the Kosmotras agreement provides for the launch of only up to 24 satellites, which is not enough to launch the entire Iridium NEXT constellation.

We are required under the terms of the Credit Facility to insure a portion of the launch of our Iridium NEXT satellites, and we expect to self-insure the remaining portion. Launch insurance currently costs approximately 6% to 15% of the insured value of the satellites launched, including launch costs, but costs may vary depending on market conditions and the safety record of the launch vehicle. In addition, we expect any launch insurance policies that we obtain to include specified exclusions, deductibles and material change limitations. Typically, these insurance policies contain exclusions customary in the industry for damage arising from acts of war, lasers and other similar potential risks. If launch insurance rates were to rise substantially, our future launch costs could increase. It is also possible that insurance could become unavailable or prohibitively expensive, either generally or for a specific launch vehicle, or that new insurance could be subject to broader exclusions on coverage or limitations on losses, in which event we would bear the risk of launch failures. Even if a lost satellite is fully insured, acquiring a replacement satellite may be difficult and time-consuming and could delay the deployment of Iridium NEXT. Furthermore, launch insurance does not cover lost revenue.

Our satellites have a limited life and may fail prematurely, which would cause our network to be compromised and materially and adversely affect our business, prospects and profitability.

Since we introduced commercial services in 2001, we have experienced nine satellite losses, most recently in August 2012. Eight of our satellites have failed in orbit, which has resulted in either the complete loss of the affected satellites or the loss of the ability of the satellite to carry traffic on the network, and one satellite was lost as a result of a collision with a non-operational Russian satellite. Also, our satellites have already exceeded their original design lives. While actual useful life typically exceeds original design life, the useful lives of our satellites may be shorter than we expect, and additional satellites may fail or collide with space debris or other satellites in the future. Although to date we have had an in-orbit spare available to replace each lost satellite, we can provide no assurance that our in-orbit spare satellites will be sufficient to replace all future lost satellites, that we will be able to replace them in a timely manner, or that the spare satellite will provide the same level of performance as the lost satellite. As a result, while we expect our current constellation to provide a commercially acceptable level of service through the transition to Iridium NEXT, we cannot guarantee it will be able to do so. In-orbit failure may result from various causes, including component failure, loss of power or fuel, inability to control positioning of the satellite, solar or other astronomical events, including solar radiation and flares, and space debris. Other factors that could affect the useful lives of our satellites include the quality of construction, gradual degradation of solar panels and the durability of components. Radiation-induced failure of satellite components may result in damage to or loss of a satellite before the end of its expected life. As our constellation has aged, some of our satellites have experienced individual component failures affecting their coverage or transmission capacity, and other satellites may experience such failures in the future, which could adversely affect the reliability of their service or result in total failure of the satellite. As a result, fewer than 66 of our current in-orbit satellites are fully functioning at any time. Although we do not incur any direct cash costs related to the failure of a satellite, if a satellite fails, we record an impairment charge in our statement of operations to reduce the remaining net book value of that satellite to zero, and any such impairment charges could significantly depress our net income for the period in which the failure occurs.

From time to time, we are advised by our customers and end users of temporary intermittent losses of signal cutting off calls in progress, preventing completions of calls when made or disrupting the transmission of data. If the magnitude or frequency of such problems increase and we are no longer able to provide a commercially acceptable level of service, our business and financial results and our reputation would be hurt and our ability to pursue our business plan would be compromised.

We may be required in the future to make further changes to our constellation to maintain or improve its performance. Any such changes may require prior FCC approval, and the FCC may subject the approval to other conditions that could be unfavorable to our business. In addition, from time to time we may reposition our satellites within the constellation in order to optimize our service, which could result in degraded service during the repositioning period. Although we have some ability to remedy some types of problems affecting the performance of our satellites remotely from the ground, the physical repair of our satellites in space is not feasible.

Our agreements with U.S. government customers, particularly the DoD, which represent a significant portion of our revenue, are subject to change or termination.

The U.S. government, through a dedicated gateway owned and operated by the DoD, has been and continues to be, directly and indirectly, our largest customer, representing 20% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 23% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011. We provide the majority of our services to the U.S. government pursuant to two contracts, both of which were entered into in April 2008 and provided for a one-year base term and up to four additional one-year options exercisable at the election of the U.S. government. These agreements expire on March 31, 2013, although based on federal acquisition regulations, the government has the ability to extend each agreement through September 30, 2013, and has informed us that it plans to do so. We are currently negotiating renewals of these contracts, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to do so on favorable terms, or at all. Further, the U.S. government may terminate these agreements, in whole or in part, at any time for its convenience. If the U.S. government terminates its agreements with us or fails to renew such agreements, or if the renewal is not on favorable terms, we would lose a significant portion of our revenue.

Our relationship with the U.S. government is subject to the overall U.S. government budget and appropriation decisions and processes. U.S. government budget decisions, including with respect to defense spending, are based on changing government priorities and objectives, which are driven by numerous factors, including geopolitical events and macroeconomic conditions, and are beyond our control. Significant changes to U.S. defense spending, including as a result of changes in the nature of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, continued reductions in U.S. personnel in those countries, or from the potential budget cuts commonly referred to as sequestration, could reduce demand for our services and products by the U.S. government.

We are dependent on intellectual property licensed from third parties to operate our constellation and sell our devices and for the enhancement of our existing products and services.

We license critical system technology, including software and systems, to operate and maintain our network as well as technical information for the design, manufacture and sale of our devices. This intellectual property is essential to our ability to continue to operate our constellation and sell our services, handsets and data devices. In addition, we are dependent on third parties to develop enhancements to our current products and services even in circumstances where we own the intellectual property. If any third-party owner of such intellectual property were to terminate any license agreement with us or cease to support and service this technology or perform development on our behalf, or if we are unable to renew such licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all, it may be difficult, more expensive or impossible to obtain such services from alternative vendors. Any substitute technology may also be costly to develop and integrate, and have lower quality or performance standards, which would adversely affect the quality of our products and services. In connection with the design, manufacture and operation of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure and the development of new products and services to be offered on Iridium NEXT, we may be required to obtain additional intellectual property rights from third parties. We can offer no assurance that we will be able to obtain such intellectual property rights on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain such intellectual property rights on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to complete Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure on budget or at all or may not be able to develop new products and services to be offered on Iridium NEXT.

Our products could fail to perform or perform at reduced levels of service because of technological malfunctions or deficiencies or events outside of our control which would seriously harm our business and reputation.

Our products and services are subject to the risks inherent in a large-scale, complex telecommunications system employing advanced technology. Any disruption to our satellites, services, information systems or telecommunications infrastructure could result in the inability of our customers to receive our services for an indeterminate period of time. These customers include government agencies conducting mission-critical work throughout the world, as well as consumers and businesses located in remote areas of the world and operating under harsh environmental conditions where traditional telecommunications services may not be readily available. Any disruption to our services or extended periods of reduced levels of service could cause us to lose customers or revenue, result in delays or cancellations of future implementations of our products and services, result in failure to attract customers or result in litigation, customer service or repair work that would involve substantial costs and distract management from operating our business. The failure of any of the diverse elements of our system, including our satellites, our commercial gateway, or our satellite network operations center, to function as required could render our system unable to perform at the quality and capacity levels required for success. Any system failures, repeated product failures or shortened product life or extended reduced levels of service could reduce our sales, increase costs or result in warranty or liability claims, cause us to extend our warranty period and seriously harm our business.

As our product portfolio expands, our failure to manage growth effectively could impede our ability to execute our business plan, and we may experience increased costs or disruption in our operations.

We currently face a variety of challenges, including maintaining the infrastructure and systems necessary for us to operate as a public company and managing the growth of our business. As our product portfolio continues to expand, the responsibilities of our management team and other company resources also grow. Consequently, we may further strain our management and other company resources with the increased complexities and administrative burdens associated with a larger, more complex product portfolio. For example, we have in the past experienced quality issues in connection with the introduction of new products and services, and we may experience such issues in the future. Our failure to meet these challenges as a result of insufficient management or other resources could significantly impede our ability to execute our business plan. To properly manage our growth, we may need to hire and retain additional personnel, upgrade our existing operational management and financial and reporting systems, and improve our business processes and controls. Failure to effectively manage the expansion of our product portfolio in a cost-effective manner could result in declines in product and service quality and customer satisfaction, increased costs or disruption of our operations.

As we and our distributors expand our offerings to include more consumer-oriented devices, we are more likely to be subject to product liability claims or recalls, which could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Through our network of distributors, we offer several products and services aimed at individual consumers, and we and our distributors continue to introduce more such products and services. These products and services, such as satellite handsets, personal locator devices and location-based services, may be used in isolated and dangerous locations, including emergency response situations, and users who suffer property damage, personal injury or death while using the product or service may seek to assert claims against us. We seek to limit our exposure to such claims through appropriate disclosures, indemnification provisions and disclaimers, but these steps may not be effective. We also maintain product liability insurance, but this insurance may not cover any particular claim, or the amount of insurance may be inadequate to cover the claims brought against us. Product liability insurance could become more expensive and difficult to maintain and might not be available on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, it is possible that our products would become the subject of a mandatory product recall as a result of a product defect, or that we might voluntarily conduct a recall. We do not maintain recall insurance, so any recall could have a significant effect on our financial results. In addition to the direct expenses of product liability claims and recalls, a claim or recall might cause us adverse publicity, which could harm our reputation and compromise our ability to sell our products in the future.

The collection, storage, transmission, use and disclosure of user data and personal information could give rise to liabilities or additional costs as a result of laws, governmental regulations and evolving views of personal privacy rights.

We transmit, and in some cases store, end user data, including personal information. In jurisdictions around the world, personal information is becoming increasingly subject to legislation and regulations intended to protect consumers’ privacy and security. The interpretation of privacy and data protection laws and regulations regarding the collection, storage, transmission, use and disclosure of such information in some jurisdictions is unclear and evolving. These laws may be interpreted and applied in conflicting ways from country to country and in a manner that is not consistent with our current data protection practices. Complying with these varying international requirements could cause us to incur additional costs and change our business practices. Because our services are accessible in many foreign jurisdictions, some of these jurisdictions may claim that we are required to comply with their laws, even where we have no local entity, employees or infrastructure. We could be forced to incur significant expenses if we were required to modify our products, our services or our existing security and privacy procedures in order to comply with new or expanded regulations.

In addition, if end users allege that their personal information is not collected, stored, transmitted, used or disclosed appropriately or in accordance with our privacy policies or applicable laws, we could have liability to them. Any failure on our part to protect end users’ privacy and data could result in a loss of user confidence, hurt our reputation and ultimately result in the loss of users.

Additional satellites may collide with space debris or another spacecraft, which could adversely affect the performance of our constellation.

In February 2009, we lost an operational satellite as a result of a collision with a non-operational Russian satellite. Although we have some ability to actively maneuver our satellites to avoid potential collisions with space debris or other spacecraft, this ability is limited by, among other factors, uncertainties and inaccuracies in the projected orbit location of and predicted conjunctions with debris objects tracked and cataloged by the U.S. government. Additionally, some space debris is too small to be tracked and therefore its orbital location is completely unknown; nevertheless, this debris is still large enough to potentially cause severe damage or a failure of our satellites should a collision occur. If our constellation experiences additional satellite collisions with space debris or other spacecraft, our service could be impaired.

The space debris created by the February 2009 satellite collision may cause damage to other spacecraft positioned in a similar orbital altitude.

The collision of one of our satellites with a non-operational Russian satellite created a space debris field concentrated in the orbital altitude where the collision occurred, and thus increased the risk of space debris damaging or interfering with the operation of our satellites, which travel in this orbital altitude, as well as satellites owned by third parties, such as U.S. or foreign governments or agencies and other satellite operators. Although there are tools used by us and providers of tracking services, such as the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center, to detect, track and identify space debris, we or third parties may not be able to maneuver the satellites away from such debris in a timely manner. Any such collision could potentially expose us to significant losses and liability if we were found to be at fault.

If we experience operational disruptions with respect to our commercial gateway or operations center, we may not be able to provide service to our customers.

Our commercial satellite network traffic is supported by a primary ground station gateway in Tempe, Arizona. In addition, we operate our satellite constellation from our satellite network operations center in Leesburg, Virginia. Currently, we do not have a backup facility for our gateway, and we would not be able to immediately implement our backup to the Virginia operations center if that facility experienced a catastrophic failure. Both facilities are subject to the risk of significant malfunctions or catastrophic loss due to unanticipated events and would be difficult to replace or repair and could require substantial lead-time to do so. Material changes in the operation of these facilities may be subject to prior FCC approval, and the FCC might not give such approval or may subject the approval to other conditions that could be unfavorable to our business. Our gateway and operations center may also experience service shutdowns or periods of reduced service in the future as a result of equipment failure, delays in deliveries or regulatory issues. Any such failure would impede our ability to provide service to our customers.

We do not maintain in-orbit insurance covering our losses from satellite failures or other operational problems affecting our constellation.

We do not maintain in-orbit insurance covering losses that might arise as a result of a satellite failure or other operational problems affecting our constellation. The terms of the Credit Facility, however, require us to obtain and maintain such insurance for the Iridium NEXT satellites for a period of 12 months after launch. We may not be able to obtain such insurance on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are not able to obtain in-orbit insurance, we may be unable to obtain a waiver, which would trigger an event of default under the Credit Facility and would likely accelerate repayment of all outstanding borrowings. Even if we obtain in-orbit insurance in the future, the coverage may not be sufficient to compensate us for satellite failures and other operational problems affecting our satellites, as it may either contain large deductible amounts or provide reimbursement only after a specified number of satellite failures. As a result, a failure of one or more of our satellites or the occurrence of equipment failures and other related problems could constitute an uninsured loss and could harm our financial condition.

We may be negatively affected by current global economic conditions.

Our operations and performance depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions. Uncertainty about current global economic conditions poses a risk as individual consumers, businesses and governments may postpone spending in response to tighter credit, negative financial news, declines in income or asset values or budgetary constraints. Reduced demand would cause a decline in our revenue and make it more difficult for us to operate profitably, potentially compromising our ability to pursue our business plan. While we expect the number of our subscribers and revenue to continue to grow, we expect the future growth rate will be slower than our historical growth and may not continue in every quarter of every year. We expect our future growth rate will be affected by the current economic slowdown, increased competition, maturation of the satellite communications industry and the difficulty in sustaining high growth rates as we increase in size. Any substantial appreciation of the U.S. dollar may also negatively affect our growth by increasing the cost of our products and services in foreign countries.

If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the rules and regulations of the NASDAQ Stock Market. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. We perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal controls over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements, and we may conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting are not effective. If that were to happen, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by NASDAQ, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

Maintaining effective internal controls over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. In connection with the preparation of our quarterly report for the three months ended September 30, 2012, management discovered an error caused by a previously existing material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting relating to accounting for income taxes. This material weakness led to the need for the restatement of our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and for the quarters ended December 31, 2009 through December 31, 2011. If we fail to maintain effective controls over financial reporting in the future, it could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis and which could cause investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial statements.

We could lose market share and revenue as a result of increasing competition from companies in the wireless communications industry, including cellular and other satellite operators, and from the extension of land-based communications services.

We face intense competition in all of our markets, which could result in a loss of customers and lower revenue and make it more difficult for us to enter new markets. We compete primarily on the basis of coverage, quality, portability and pricing of services and products.

The provision of satellite-based services and products is subject to downward price pressure when capacity exceeds demand or as a result of aggressive discounting by some operators under financial pressure to expand their respective market share. In addition, we may face competition from new competitors, new technologies or new equipment. For example, we may face competition for our land-based services in the United States from incipient ancillary terrestrial component, or ATC, service providers who are currently raising capital and designing a satellite operating business and a terrestrial component around their spectrum holdings. In addition, some of our competitors have announced plans for the launch of additional satellites. As a result of competition, we may not be able to successfully retain our existing customers and attract new customers.

In addition to our satellite-based competitors, terrestrial voice and data service providers, both wireline and wireless, could further expand into rural and remote areas and provide the same general types of services and products that we provide through our satellite-based system. Although satellite communications services and terrestrial communications services are not perfect substitutes, the two compete in some markets and for some services. Consumers generally perceive terrestrial wireless voice communication products and services as cheaper and more convenient than those that are satellite-based. Many of our terrestrial competitors have greater resources, wider name recognition and newer technologies than we do. In addition, industry consolidation could hurt us by increasing the scale or scope of our competitors, thereby making it more difficult for us to compete.

Some of the hardware and software we use in operating our gateway was designed and manufactured over ten years ago, and portions are becoming more difficult and expensive to service, upgrade or replace.

Some of the hardware and software we use in operating our gateway was designed and manufactured over ten years ago, and portions are becoming obsolete. As they continue to age, they may become less reliable and will be more difficult and expensive to service, upgrade or replace. Although we maintain inventories of some spare parts, it nonetheless may be difficult or impossible to obtain all necessary replacement parts for the hardware. Our business plan contemplates updating or replacing some of the hardware and software in our network, but the age of our existing hardware and software may present us with technical and operational challenges that complicate or otherwise make it infeasible to carry out our planned upgrades and replacements, and the expenditure of resources, both from a monetary and human capital perspective, may exceed our estimates. If we are not able to suitably upgrade and replace our equipment, obsolescence of the technologies that we use could hurt our ability to provide our services and therefore to generate revenue.

Rapid and significant technological changes in the satellite communications industry may impair our competitive position and require us to make significant additional capital expenditures.

The satellite communications industry is subject to rapid advances and innovations in technology. We may face competition in the future from companies using new technologies and new satellite systems. New technology could render our system obsolete or less competitive by satisfying customer demand in more attractive ways or through the introduction of incompatible standards. Particular technological developments that could adversely affect us include the deployment by our competitors of new satellites with greater power, flexibility, efficiency or capabilities than our current constellation or Iridium NEXT, as well as continuing improvements in terrestrial wireless technologies. For us to keep up with technological changes and remain competitive, we may need to make significant capital expenditures, including capital to design and launch new products and services on Iridium NEXT, which are not included in our current cost estimates. Customer acceptance of the products and services that we offer will continually be affected by technology-based differences in our product and service offerings compared to those of our competitors. New technologies may also be protected by patents or other intellectual property laws and therefore may not be available to us. Any failure on our part to implement new technology within our system may compromise our ability to compete.

Use by our competitors of L-band spectrum for terrestrial services could interfere with our services.

In February 2003, the FCC adopted rules that permit satellite service providers to establish ATC networks in previously satellite-only bands. In November 2012, Globalstar filed a petition for rulemaking, asking the FCC to permit it to provide terrestrial service in L-band spectrum and to eliminate ATC network requirements, which we are opposing. The implementation of ATC services by satellite service providers in the United States or other countries may result in increased competition for the right to use L-band spectrum in the 1.6 GHz band, which we use to provide our services, and such competition may make it difficult for us to obtain or retain the spectrum resources we require for our existing and future services. In addition, the FCC’s decision to permit ATC services was based on assumptions relating to the level of interference that the provision of ATC services would likely cause to other satellite service providers that use the L-band spectrum. If the FCC’s assumptions prove inaccurate, or the level of ATC services provided exceeds those estimated by the FCC, ATC services could interfere with our satellites and devices, which may adversely affect our services. Outside the United States, other countries have implemented or are considering implementing regulations to facilitate ATC-like services.

Our networks and those of our third-party service providers may be vulnerable to security risks.

We expect the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks to continue to be a critical element of our ability to compete for business and protect our customers and our reputation. Our network and those of our third-party service providers and our customers may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses and other security problems. Persons who circumvent security measures could wrongfully obtain or use information on the network or cause interruptions, delays or malfunctions in our operations, any of which could harm our reputation, cause demand for our products and services to fall and compromise our ability to pursue our business plans. Recently, there have been reported a number of significant, widespread security breaches that have compromised network integrity for many companies and governmental agencies, in some cases reportedly originating from outside the United States. In addition, there are reportedly private products available in the market today which attempt to unlawfully intercept communications made on our network. We may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of security breaches or to alleviate problems, including reputational harm and litigation, caused by any breaches. In addition, our customer contracts may not adequately protect us against liability to third parties with whom our customers conduct business. Although we have implemented and intend to continue to implement industry-standard security measures, these measures may prove to be inadequate and result in system failures and delays that could lower network availability, which could harm our business and our reputation.

We are dependent on third parties to market and sell our products and services.

We rely on third-party distributors to market and sell our products and services to end users and to determine the prices end users pay. We also depend on our distributors to develop innovative and improved solutions and applications integrating our product and service offerings. As a result of these arrangements, we are dependent on the performance of our distributors to generate substantially all of our revenue. Our distributors operate independently of us, and we have limited control over their operations, which exposes us to significant risks. Distributors may not commit the necessary resources to market and sell our products and services and may also market and sell competitive products and services. In addition, our distributors may not comply with the laws and regulatory requirements in their local jurisdictions, which could limit their ability to market or sell our products and services. If our distributors develop faulty or poorly performing products using our technology or services, we may be subject to claims, and our reputation could be harmed. If current or future distributors do not perform adequately, or if we are unable to locate competent distributors in particular countries and secure their services on favorable terms, we may be unable to increase or maintain our revenue in these markets or enter new markets, we may not realize our expected growth, and our brand image and reputation could be hurt.

In addition, we may lose distributors due to competition, consolidation, regulatory developments, business developments affecting our distributors or their customers, or for other reasons. Any future consolidation of our distributors would further increase our reliance on a few key distributors of our services and the amount of volume discounts that we may have to give such distributors. Our two largest distributors, Astrium and Inmarsat, each represented 10% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012, and our ten largest distributors represented, in the aggregate, 48% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012. The loss of any of these distributors, or a decrease in the level of effort expended by any of them to promote our products and services, could reduce the distribution of our products and services as well as the development of new products and applications.

We rely on a limited number of key vendors for supply of equipment and services.

We rely on two single-source contracts for the manufacture of our current devices, including our mobile handsets, L-Band transceivers and short-burst data devices. Either of these manufacturers may choose to terminate its business relationship with us when its current contractual obligations are completed, or at such earlier time as contemplated by our current agreement. If a manufacturer terminates its relationship with us, we may not be able to find a replacement supplier in a timely manner, at an acceptable price, or at all. We are highly dependent on these manufacturers’ performance as the sole suppliers of our devices. We also utilize sole source suppliers for some of the component parts of our devices.

These manufacturers and suppliers may become capacity-constrained as a result of a surge in demand, a natural disaster or other event, resulting in a shortage or interruption in supplies or an inability to meet increased demand. Although we might be able to replace sole source suppliers, there could be a substantial period of time in which our products would not be available; any new relationship may involve higher costs and delays in development and delivery, and we might encounter technical challenges in successfully replicating the manufacturing processes. If our manufacturers or suppliers terminate their relationships with us, fail to provide equipment or services to us on a timely basis or fail to meet our performance expectations, we might be unable to provide products or services to our customers in a competitive manner, which could in turn negatively affect our financial results and our reputation.

In addition, we depend on Boeing to provide operations and maintenance services with respect to our satellite network, including engineering, systems analysis, integration and testing of new equipment and operations and maintenance services, from our technical support center in Chandler, Arizona and our satellite network operations center in Leesburg, Virginia. Technological competence is critical to our business and depends, to a significant degree, on the work of technically skilled personnel, such as our Boeing contractors. If Boeing’s performance falls below expected levels or if Boeing has difficulties retaining the personnel servicing our network, the operations of our satellite network could be compromised. In addition, if Boeing terminates its agreement with us, we may not be able to find a replacement provider on favorable terms or at all, which could impair the operations and performance of our network. Replacing Boeing as the operator of our satellite system could also trigger de-orbit rights held by the U.S. government, which, if exercised, would eliminate our ability to offer satellite communications services altogether.

We have been and may in the future become subject to claims that our products violate the patent or intellectual property rights of others, which could be costly and disruptive to us.

We operate in an industry that is susceptible to significant intellectual property litigation. As a result, we or our products may become subject to intellectual property infringement claims or litigation. The defense of intellectual property suits is both costly and time-consuming, even if ultimately successful, and may divert management’s attention from other business concerns. An adverse determination in litigation to which we may become a party could, among other things:

Conducting and expanding our operations outside the United States creates numerous risks, which may harm our operations and compromise our ability to expand our international operations.

We have significant operations outside the United States. According to our estimates, commercial data traffic originating outside the United States, excluding Iridium OpenPort traffic, accounted for 69% of total commercial data traffic for the year ended December 31, 2012, while commercial voice traffic originating outside the United States, excluding Iridium OpenPort traffic, accounted for 90% of total commercial voice traffic for the year ended December 31, 2012. We cannot provide the precise geographical distribution of revenue from end users because we do not contract directly with them. Instead, we determine the country in which we earn our revenue based on where we invoice our distributors. These distributors sell services directly or indirectly to end users, who may be located or use our products and services elsewhere. We and our distributors are also seeking authorization to sell our services in additional countries.

Conducting operations outside the United States involves numerous special risks and, while expanding our international operations would advance our growth, it would also increase these risks. These include:

These risks could affect our ability to successfully compete and expand internationally.

Government organizations, foreign military and intelligence agencies, natural disaster aid associations and event-driven response agencies use our commercial voice and data satellite communications services. Accordingly, we may experience reductions in usage due to changing global circumstances, including as a result of changes in the nature of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, or continued reductions in U.S. and foreign personnel in those countries.

The prices for our products and services are typically denominated in U.S. dollars. Any appreciation of the U.S. dollar against other currencies will increase the cost of our products and services to our international customers and, as a result, may reduce the competitiveness of our international offerings and make it more difficult for us to grow internationally.

We are currently unable to offer service in important regions of the world due to regulatory requirements, which limits our growth.

Our ability to provide service in some regions is limited by local regulations. Some countries, including India, have specific regulatory requirements such as local domestic ownership requirements or requirements for physical gateways within their jurisdiction to connect traffic coming to and from their territory. While we have had discussions with parties in these countries to satisfy these regulatory requirements, we may not be able to find an acceptable local partner or reach an agreement to develop additional gateways, or the cost of developing and deploying such gateways may be prohibitive, which could impair our ability to expand our product and service offerings in such areas and undermine our value for potential users who require service in these areas. Also, other countries where we already provide service may impose similar requirements, which could restrict our ability to continue to provide service in those countries. The inability to offer to sell our products and services in all major international markets could impair our international growth. In addition, the construction of such gateways in foreign countries may trigger and require us to comply with various U.S. regulatory requirements that could conflict with or contravene the laws or regulations of the local jurisdiction. Any of these developments could limit, delay or otherwise interfere with our ability to construct gateways or other infrastructure or network solutions around the world.

The U.S. government, Motorola Solutions and Boeing may unilaterally require us to de-orbit our current constellation upon the occurrence of specified events.

As described elsewhere in this report, when Iridium Satellite purchased the assets of Iridium LLC out of bankruptcy, Boeing, Motorola and the U.S. government required specified de-orbit rights as a way to control potential liability risk arising from future operation of the constellation. As a result, Iridium Satellite, Boeing, Motorola and the U.S. government entered into an agreement giving the U.S. government the right to, in its sole discretion, require us to de-orbit our constellation upon the occurrence of specified events.

Motorola Solutions, as successor to Motorola, and Boeing each also have the right to require us to de-orbit our constellation pursuant to our agreements with them upon the occurrence of specified events.

We cannot guarantee that the U.S. government, Motorola Solutions or Boeing will not unilaterally exercise their de-orbiting rights upon the occurrence of any of the specified events. If we were required to de-orbit our constellation, we would be unable to continue to provide mobile satellite communications services.

We may be unable to obtain and maintain contractually required liability insurance, and the insurance we obtain may not cover all liabilities to which we may become subject.

Under our agreement with Motorola, we are required to maintain an in-orbit liability insurance policy with a de-orbiting endorsement. The current policy, together with the de-orbiting endorsement, covers amounts that we and other specified parties may become liable to pay for bodily injury and property damages to third parties related to processing, maintaining and operating our satellite constellation and, in the case of the de-orbiting endorsement, de-orbiting our satellite constellation. Our current policy has a one-year term, which expires on December 8, 2013, and excludes coverage for all third-party damages relating to the 2009 collision of our satellite with a non-operational Russian satellite. The price, terms and availability of insurance have fluctuated significantly since we began offering commercial satellite services. The cost of obtaining insurance can vary as a result of either satellite failures or general conditions in the insurance industry. Higher premiums on insurance policies would increase our cost. In-orbit liability insurance policies on satellites may not continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In addition to higher premiums, insurance policies may provide for higher deductibles, shorter coverage periods and additional policy exclusions. For example, our current de-orbit insurance covers only twelve months from attachment and therefore would not cover losses arising outside that timeframe. Our failure to renew our current in-orbit liability insurance policy or obtain a replacement policy would trigger de-orbit rights held by the U.S. government and Boeing described in the immediately preceding risk factor, which, if exercised, would eliminate our ability to provide mobile satellite communications services. In addition, even if we continue to maintain an in-orbit liability insurance policy, the coverage may not protect us against all third-party losses, which could be material.

Our current in-orbit liability insurance policy contains, and we expect any future policies would likewise contain, specified exclusions and material change limitations customary in the industry. These exclusions may relate to, among other things, losses resulting from in-orbit collisions such as the one we experienced in 2009, acts of war, insurrection, terrorism or military action, government confiscation, strikes, riots, civil commotions, labor disturbances, sabotage, unauthorized use of the satellites and nuclear or radioactive contamination, as well as claims directly or indirectly occasioned as a result of noise, pollution, electrical and electromagnetic interference and interference with the use of property.

In addition to our in-orbit liability insurance policy, we are required to purchase product liability insurance to cover the potential liability of Motorola Solutions, as the manufacturer of the satellites in our current constellation. We may not in the future be able to renew this product liability coverage on reasonable terms and conditions, or at all. Our failure to maintain this insurance could increase our exposure to third-party damages that may be caused by any of our satellites. As described elsewhere in this report, if we are unable to obtain such insurance on commercially reasonable terms and the U.S. government has not agreed to cover the amounts that would have otherwise been paid by such insurance, Motorola Solutions could invoke its de-orbit rights which, if exercised, would eliminate our ability to provide mobile satellite communications services.

Wireless devices’ radio frequency emissions are the subject of regulation and litigation concerning their environmental effects, which includes alleged health and safety risks. As a result, we may be subject to new regulations, demand for our services may decrease, and we could face liability based on alleged health risks.

There has been adverse publicity concerning alleged health risks associated with radio frequency transmissions from portable hand-held telephones that have transmitting antennas. Lawsuits have been filed against participants in the wireless industry alleging a number of adverse health consequences, including cancer, as a result of wireless phone usage. Other claims allege consumer harm from failures to disclose information about radio frequency emissions or aspects of the regulatory regimes governing those emissions. Although we have not been party to any such lawsuits, we may be exposed to such litigation in the future. While we comply with applicable standards for radio frequency emissions and power and do not believe that there is valid scientific evidence that use of our phones poses a health risk, courts or governmental agencies could determine otherwise. Any such finding could reduce our revenue and profitability and expose us and other wireless providers to litigation, which, even if frivolous or unsuccessful, could be costly to defend.

If consumers’ health concerns over radio frequency emissions increase, they may be discouraged from using wireless handsets. Further, government authorities might increase regulation of wireless handsets as a result of these health concerns. Any actual or perceived risk from radio frequency emissions could reduce the number of our subscribers and demand for our products and services.

Our business is subject to extensive government regulation, which mandates how we may operate our business and may increase our cost of providing services and slow our expansion into new markets.

Our ownership and operation of a satellite communications system and the sale of products that operate on that system are subject to significant regulation in the United States by the FCC and in foreign jurisdictions by similar local authorities. The rules and regulations of the FCC or these foreign authorities may change, and such authorities may adopt regulations that limit or restrict our operations as presently conducted or currently contemplated. Such authorities may also make changes in the licenses of our competitors that affect our spectrum. Such changes may significantly affect our business. Further, because regulations in each country are different, we may not be aware if some of our distribution partners or persons with whom we or they do business do not hold the requisite licenses and approvals. Our failure to provide services in accordance with the terms of our licenses or our failure to operate our satellites or ground stations as required by our licenses and applicable laws and government regulations could result in the imposition of government sanctions on us, including the suspension or cancellation of our licenses. Our failure or delay in obtaining the approvals required to operate in other countries would limit or delay our ability to expand our operations into those countries. Our failure to obtain industry standard certifications for our products could compromise our ability to generate revenue and conduct our business in other countries. Any imposition of sanctions, loss of license or failure to obtain the authorizations necessary to use our assigned radio frequency spectrum and to distribute our products in the United States or foreign jurisdictions could cause us to lose sales, hurt our reputation and impair our ability to pursue our business plan.

In addition, one of our subsidiaries, Iridium Carrier Services LLC, holds a common carrier radio license and is thus subject to regulation as a common carrier, including limitations and prior approval requirements with respect to direct or indirect foreign ownership. A change in the manner in which we provide service, or a failure to comply with common carrier regulations or pay required fees, could result in sanctions including fines, loss of authorizations, or the denial of applications for new authorizations or the renewal of existing authorizations.

Security and emergency services regulations in the U.S. and other countries may affect our ability to operate our system and to expand into new markets.

Our operations are subject to regulations of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Defense Trade Controls relating to the export of satellites and related technical data, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control relating to transactions involving entities sanctioned by the United States, and the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security relating to our subscriber equipment. We are also required to provide U.S. and some foreign government law enforcement and security agencies with call interception services and related government assistance, in respect of which we face legal obligations and restrictions in various jurisdictions. Given our global operations and unique network architecture, these requirements and restrictions are not always easy to harmonize. In addition, some countries require providers of telecommunications services to connect specified emergency numbers to local emergency services. We have discussed and continue to discuss with authorities in various countries the procedures used to satisfy our obligations, and have had to, and may in the future need to, obtain amendments or waivers to licenses or obligations in various countries. Countries are not obligated to grant requested amendments or waivers, and there can be no assurance that relevant authorities will not suspend or revoke our licenses or take other legal actions to attempt to enforce the requirements of their respective jurisdictions.

These U.S. and foreign obligations and regulations may limit or delay our ability to offer products and services in a particular country. As new laws and regulations are issued, we may be required to modify our business plans or operations. In addition, changing and conflicting national and local regulatory requirements may cause us to be in compliance with local requirements in one country, while not being in compliance with the laws and regulations of another. If we fail to comply with regulations in the United States or any other country, we could be subject to sanctions that could make it difficult or impossible for us to operate in the United States or such other country.

If the FCC revokes, modifies or fails to renew or amend our licenses, our ability to operate will be harmed or eliminated.

We hold FCC licenses, specifically a license for our current satellite constellation, licenses for our U.S. gateway and other ground facilities and blanket earth station licenses for U.S. government customers and commercial subscribers, that are subject to revocation if we fail to satisfy specified conditions or to meet prescribed milestones. The FCC licenses are also subject to modification by the FCC. Our satellite constellation, U.S. gateway earth station and the U.S. government customer and commercial subscriber earth station licenses expire between November 2013 and the year 2026. There can be no assurance that the FCC will renew the FCC licenses we hold. If the FCC revokes, modifies or fails to renew or amend the FCC licenses we hold, or if we fail to satisfy any of the conditions of our respective FCC licenses, we may not be able to continue to provide mobile satellite communications services.

Pursuing strategic transactions may cause us to incur additional risks.

We may pursue acquisitions, joint ventures or other strategic transactions from time to time. We may face costs and risks arising from any such transactions, including integrating a new business into our business or managing a joint venture. These risks may include adverse legal, organizational and financial consequences, loss of key customers and distributors and diversion of management’s time.

In addition, any major business combination or similar strategic transaction would require approval under the Credit Facility and may require significant external financing. Depending on market conditions, investor perceptions of our company and other factors, we might not be able to obtain approvals under the Credit Facility or financing on acceptable terms, in acceptable amounts or at appropriate times to implement any such transaction. Any such financing, if obtained, may further dilute existing stockholders.

Spectrum values historically have been volatile, which could cause the value of our business to fluctuate.

Our business plan is evolving, and it may in the future include forming strategic partnerships to maximize value for our spectrum, network assets and combined service offerings in the United States and internationally. Values that we may be able to realize from such partnerships will depend in part on the value placed on our spectrum authorizations. Valuations of spectrum in other frequency bands historically have been volatile, and we cannot predict at what amount a future partner may be willing to value our spectrum and other assets. In addition, to the extent that the FCC takes action that makes additional spectrum available or promotes the more flexible use or greater availability of existing satellite or terrestrial spectrum allocations, for example by means of spectrum leasing or new spectrum sales, the availability of such additional spectrum could reduce the value of our spectrum authorizations and, as a result, the value of our business.

Our ability to operate our company effectively could be impaired if we lose members of our senior management team or key technical personnel.

We depend on the continued service of key managerial and technical personnel and personnel with security clearances, as well as our ability to continue to attract and retain highly qualified personnel. We compete for such personnel with other companies, government entities, academic institutions and other organizations. The unexpected loss or interruption of the services of such personnel could compromise our ability to effectively manage our operations, execute our business plan and meet our strategic objectives.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile.

The trading price of our common stock may be subject to substantial fluctuations. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock may include:

The trading price of our common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry even if these events do not directly affect us. If the market for stocks in our industry, or the stock market in general, experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We do not currently pay cash dividends on our common stock and, because we currently intend to retain all cash we generate to fund the growth of our business and the Credit Facility restricts the payment of dividends, we do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. 

Item  1B.   Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

We own or lease the facilities described in the following table:

Neither we nor any of our subsidiaries are currently subject to any material legal proceeding, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our subsidiaries.

Not applicable.

PART II

Our common stock is currently listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “IRDM.” The following table sets forth, for the quarters indicated, the quarterly high and low sales prices of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

On February 27, 2013, the closing price of our common stock was $6.45. As of February 27, 2013, there were 64 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividend Policy

We have not paid any dividends on our common stock to date. We are currently restricted from declaring, making or paying dividends on our common stock pursuant to our $1.8 billion loan facility (See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this report, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”), and we do not anticipate that we will declare any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

Stock Price Performance Graph

The graph below compares the cumulative total return of our common stock from March 20, 2008, the date that our common stock first became separately tradable, through December 31, 2012 with the comparable cumulative return of three indices, the S&P 500 Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index and the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index. The graph plots the growth in value of an initial investment of $100 in each of our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index and the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index over the indicated time periods. The stock price performance shown on the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

⁽¹⁾ Each $7.00 Warrant entitled the holder to purchase one share of the Company’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share, at a price of $7.00 per share. On February 14, 2013, any remaining unexchanged and unexercised $7.00 Warrants expired by their terms.

⁽²⁾ Repurchased pursuant to a public tender offer for up to 8,979,434 $7.00 Warrants that was announced on September 28, 2012, commenced on October 2, 2012, expired on November 30, 2012 and closed on December 6, 2012.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Iridium Communications Inc.

The following selected historical financial data for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008 was derived from Iridium Communications Inc.’s audited financial statements. The selected financial data below should be read in conjunction with Iridium Communications Inc.’s financial statements and related notes, and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The selected financial data is historical data for Iridium Communications Inc. and is not necessarily indicative of future results of operations.

Background

We were initially formed in 2007 as GHL Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. We acquired all the outstanding equity in Iridium Holdings LLC, or Iridium Holdings, in a transaction accounted for as a business combination on September 29, 2009. We refer to this transaction as the Acquisition. We refer to Iridium Holdings, together with its direct and indirect subsidiaries, as Iridium. In accounting for the Acquisition, GHL Acquisition Corp. was deemed the legal and accounting acquirer and Iridium the legal and accounting acquiree. On September 29, 2009, we changed our name to Iridium Communications Inc.

Overview of Our Business

We are engaged primarily in providing mobile voice and data communications services using a constellation of orbiting satellites. We are the second largest provider of satellite-based mobile voice and data communications services based on revenue, and the only commercial provider of communications services offering true global coverage. Our satellite network provides communications services to regions of the world where wireless or wireline networks do not exist or are impaired, including extremely remote or rural land areas, airways, open-ocean, the polar regions and regions where the telecommunications infrastructure has been affected by political conflicts or natural disasters.

We provide voice and data communications services to businesses, the U.S. and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers using our constellation of in-orbit satellites and related ground infrastructure. We utilize an interlinked, mesh architecture to route traffic across the satellite constellation using radio frequency crosslinks. This unique architecture minimizes the need for ground facilities to support the constellation, which facilitates the global reach of our services and allows us to offer services in countries and regions where we have no physical presence.

We sell our products and services to commercial end users through a wholesale distribution network, encompassing more than 70 service providers, 175 value-added resellers, or VARs, and 50 value-added manufacturers, or VAMs, who either sell directly to the end user or indirectly through other service providers, VARs or dealers. These distributors often integrate our products and services with other complementary hardware and software and have developed a broad suite of applications for our products and services targeting specific lines of business.

At December 31, 2012, we had approximately 611,000 billable subscribers worldwide, an increase of 88,000, or 17%, from approximately 523,000 billable subscribers at December 31, 2011. We have a diverse customer base, including end users in the following lines of business: land-based handset; machine-to-machine, or M2M; maritime; aviation; and government.

We recognize revenue from both the sale of equipment and the provision of services. We expect a higher proportion of our future revenue will be derived from services. Voice and M2M data service revenue have historically generated higher gross margins than subscriber equipment revenue.

We are currently devoting a substantial part of our resources to develop Iridium NEXT, our next-generation satellite constellation, along with the development of new product and service offerings, upgrades to our current services, hardware and software upgrades to maintain our ground infrastructure and upgrades to our business systems. We estimate the aggregate costs associated with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure upgrades through 2017 to be approximately $3 billion. We believe our credit facility, described below, together with internally generated cash flows, including cash flows from hosted payloads and proceeds from our recent sale of 7.00% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, or the Series A Preferred Stock, will be sufficient to fully fund the aggregate costs associated with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT and related ground infrastructure upgrades through 2017. For more information about our sources of funding, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Full Scale Development and Launch Services Agreements

In June 2010, we executed a primarily fixed price full scale development contract, or FSD, with Thales Alenia Space France, or Thales, for the design and manufacture of satellites for Iridium NEXT. The total price under the FSD will be approximately $2.2 billion, and we expect our payment obligations under the FSD to extend into the third quarter of 2017. As of December 31, 2012, we had made total payments of $682.9 million to Thales, which are classified within property and equipment, net, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.

In March 2010, we entered into an agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, to secure SpaceX as the primary launch services provider for Iridium NEXT. In August 2012, we entered into an amendment to our launch services agreement with SpaceX. The amendment reduced the number of contracted launches from eight to seven and increased the number of satellites to be carried on each launch vehicle from nine to ten. The amendment also reduced the maximum price under the original SpaceX agreement from $492.0 million to $453.1 million. As of December 31, 2012, we had made total payments of $65.1 million to SpaceX, which are classified within property and equipment, net, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.

In June 2011, we entered into an agreement with International Space Company Kosmotras, or Kosmotras, as a supplemental launch services provider for Iridium NEXT. The agreement provides for the purchase of up to six launches and six additional launch options. Each launch can carry two satellites. If we purchase all six launches, we will pay Kosmotras a total of approximately $184.3 million. We expect to exercise an option to purchase one launch under the agreement which we plan to use for the first two Iridium NEXT satellites. Our payments to Kosmotras for the single launch would be approximately $51.8 million. If we do not purchase any additional launches by March 31, 2013, the remaining options will expire. As of December 31, 2012, we had made aggregate payments of $11.2 million to Kosmotras which are capitalized as construction in progress within property and equipment, net in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.

Credit Facility

On October 4, 2010, we entered into a $1.8 billion loan facility, or the Credit Facility, with a syndicate of bank lenders. Ninety-five percent of our obligations under the Credit Facility are insured by Compagnie Française d’Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur, or COFACE. The Credit Facility consists of two tranches, with draws and repayments applied pro rata in respect of each tranche:

In connection with each draw made under the Credit Facility, we borrow an additional amount equal to 6.49% of such draw to cover the premium for the COFACE insurance. We also pay a commitment fee of 0.80% per year, in semi-annual installments, on any undrawn portion of the Credit Facility. Funds drawn under the Credit Facility will be used for 85% of the costs under the FSD for the design and manufacture of Iridium NEXT, the premium for the COFACE insurance and the payment of a portion of interest during a portion of the construction and launch phase of Iridium NEXT.

Scheduled semi-annual principal repayments will begin six months after the earlier of (i) the successful deployment of a specified number of Iridium NEXT satellites or (ii) September 30, 2017. During this repayment period, we will pay interest on the same date as the principal repayments. Prior to the repayment period, interest payments are due on a semi-annual basis in April and October. Interest expense incurred during the year ended December 31, 2012 was $25.5 million. We capitalize all interest costs incurred related to the Credit Facility during the construction period of the assets; accordingly we capitalized $25.5 million related to interest incurred in 2012. We pay interest on each semi-annual due date through a combination of a cash payment and a deemed additional loan. The $25.5 million in interest incurred during the year ended December 31, 2012 consisted of $7.7 million payable in cash, of which $6.1 million was paid during the year and $1.6 million was accrued at year end, and $17.8 million payable by deemed loans, of which $14.1 million was paid during the year and $3.7 million was accrued at year end. The Credit Facility will mature seven years after the start of the principal repayment period. In addition, we are required to maintain minimum cash reserve levels for debt service, which are classified as restricted cash on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Minimum debt service reserve levels are estimated as follows (in millions):

The required minimum debt service reserve level at December 31, 2012 was $54.0 million, which we satisfied. Obligations under the Credit Facility are guaranteed by us and our subsidiaries that are obligors under the Credit Facility. Our obligations are secured on a senior basis by a lien on substantially all of our assets and those of the other obligors.

We may not prepay any borrowings prior to December 31, 2015. If, on that date, a specified number of Iridium NEXT satellites have been successfully launched and we have adequate time and resources to complete the Iridium NEXT constellation on schedule, we may prepay the borrowings without penalty. In addition, following the completion of the Iridium NEXT constellation, we may prepay the borrowings without penalty. We may not subsequently borrow any amounts that we repay. We must repay the loans in full upon a delisting of our common stock,  a change in control of our company or our ceasing to own 100% of any of the other obligors, or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets. We must apply all or a portion of specified capital raising proceeds, insurance proceeds and condemnation proceeds to the prepayment of the loans. The Credit Facility includes customary representations, events of default, covenants and conditions precedent to our drawing of funds.

The financial covenants under the Credit Facility include:

The covenants also place limitations on our ability and that of our subsidiaries to carry out mergers and acquisitions, dispose of assets, grant security interests, declare, make or pay dividends, enter into transactions with affiliates, fund payments under the FSD from our own resources, incur additional indebtedness, or make loans, guarantees or indemnities. We were in compliance with all covenants as of December 31, 2012.

In August 2012, we entered into a supplemental agreement, or the Supplemental Agreement, with the Lenders under the Credit Facility, to amend and restate the Credit Facility. The Credit Facility, as amended by the Supplemental Agreement, authorizes us to fund and operate Aireon LLC, or Aireon, for the purpose of establishing a space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast global air traffic monitoring business. Specifically, the amended Credit Facility excludes Aireon from the group of companies (us and our material subsidiaries) that are obligors under the Credit Facility and from our consolidated financial results for purposes of calculating compliance with the financial covenants. The amended Credit Facility allows us to make a $12.5 million investment in Aireon, the injection of up to $10 million worth of airtime credits in connection with a satellite design and development agreement with Harris Corporation, if needed, and an additional investment of up to $15 million raised from issuances of our common equity. The amended Credit Facility requires us to use any net distributions received from Aireon to repay our debt obligations under the Credit Facility and to grant the Lenders a security interest in our ownership interest in Aireon. The Supplemental Agreement does not modify the principal amount, interest rates, repayment dates, or maturity of the Credit Facility. The amended Credit Facility includes revised financial covenant levels to reflect changes in timing of expected receipts of cash flows from secondary payloads and other changing business conditions and revised launch and backup launch requirements to permit the amendment to our launch services agreement with SpaceX. The amended Credit Facility required us to raise $100 million through a combination of the issuance of convertible preferred or common equity and warrant exercises by April 30, 2013. In October 2012, we satisfied this requirement primarily through the sale of Series A Preferred Stock for net proceeds of $96.5 million as discussed further below. In the third quarter of 2012, we also received $9.1 million from the exercise of warrants to purchase our common stock at an exercise price of $7.00 per share.

As of December 31, 2012, we had borrowed $751.8 million under the Credit Facility. The unused portion of the Credit Facility as of December 31, 2012 was approximately $1.0 billion. The semi-annual commitment fee on the undrawn portion of the Credit Facility for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $10.2 million and is included in other income (expense) in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.

Private Placement of Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock

On October 3, 2012, we issued 1,000,000 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock in a private offering. The sale price to the initial purchaser, equal to $96.85 per share, reflected an aggregate initial purchaser discount of $3.2 million. Upon settlement of the private offering in October 2012, we received proceeds of $96.5 million, which were net of the $3.5 million initial purchaser discount and offering costs. We intend to use the net proceeds of the private offering to help fund the construction and deployment of Iridium NEXT and for other general corporate purposes.

Holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive cumulative cash dividends when, as and if declared from, and including, the date of original issue at a rate of 7.00% per annum of the $100 liquidation preference per share, which is equivalent to an annual rate of $7.00 per share. Dividends are payable quarterly in arrears, on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15 of each year. The Series A Preferred Stock does not have a stated maturity date and is not subject to any sinking fund or mandatory redemption provisions and ranks senior to our common stock with respect to dividend rights and rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up. Holders of Series A Preferred Stock generally have no voting rights except for limited voting rights if we fail to pay dividends for six or more quarterly periods, whether or not consecutive, and in other specified circumstances. In 2012, we paid $1.4 million in cash dividends to holders of our Series A Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2012, there were $0.3 million in accrued dividends which will be paid in March 2013.

Holders of Series A Preferred Stock may convert some or all of their outstanding Series A Preferred Stock initially at a conversion rate of 10.6022 shares of common stock per $100 liquidation preference, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $9.43 per share of common stock, subject to adjustment in specified events. Except as otherwise provided, the Series A Preferred Stock is convertible only into shares of our common stock.

On or after October 3, 2017, we may, at our option, convert some or all of the Series A Preferred Stock into that number of shares of our common stock that are issuable at the then-applicable conversion rate, subject to specified conditions. On or prior to October 3, 2017, the holders of Series A Preferred Stock will have a special right to convert some or all of the Series A Preferred Stock into shares of our common stock in the event of fundamental changes described in the Certificate of Designations for the Series A Preferred Stock, subject to specified conditions and limitations. In certain circumstances, we may also elect to settle conversions in cash as a result of these fundamental changes.

Warrant Exchange

Private Warrant Exchange

In September 2012, we entered into privately negotiated warrant exchange agreements with funds managed by T2 Partners Management, L.P., or T2, the largest holder of our outstanding common stock purchase warrants with an exercise price of $7.00 per share, or $7.00 Warrants. Pursuant to these exchange agreements, we issued 562,370 new shares of our common stock in exchange for 3,374,220 of the $7.00 Warrants held by the T2 funds (equivalent to approximately 0.1667 common shares for every $7.00 Warrant tendered), representing approximately 27% of the outstanding $7.00 Warrants.

Tender Offer for Warrant Exchange

On November 30, 2012, we closed a tender offer to exchange the remaining outstanding $7.00 Warrants for shares of our common stock. We offered holders of $7.00 Warrants one share of common stock for every six of the $7.00 Warrants tendered (equivalent to approximately 0.1667 common shares for every $7.00 Warrant tendered). As a result of the tender offer, we issued an aggregate of 1,386,941 shares of common stock in exchange for the surrender of 8,321,433 of the $7.00 Warrants. The remaining unexercised outstanding $7.00 Warrants expired in February 2013.

Investment in Subsidiary

In November 2012, Aireon and one of our indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, Iridium Satellite LLC, or Iridium Satellite, entered into an Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Aireon, or the Aireon LLC Agreement, with NAV CANADA and NAV CANADA Satellite, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NAV CANADA. Under the Aireon LLC Agreement, NAV CANADA Satellite may purchase Series A preferred membership interests in Aireon in five tranches representing up to 51% of the fully diluted equity of Aireon for an aggregate investment of up to $150 million. Each tranche is subject to the satisfaction of a number of operational, commercial, regulatory and financial conditions. On November 19, 2012, NAV CANADA Satellite made its first tranche investment of $15 million, representing 5.1% of the fully diluted equity of Aireon. As of December 31, 2012, Iridium Satellite owned 100% of Aireon’s outstanding common membership interests which represented 94.9% of Aireon’s fully diluted outstanding equity.

Settlement of Motorola Litigation

On October 1, 2010, we entered into a settlement agreement with Motorola pursuant to which we settled litigation previously filed by Motorola against Iridium Satellite and Iridium Holdings in Illinois. On the same date, the parties entered into a series of other agreements. Pursuant to these several agreements, we agreed to pay Motorola an aggregate of $46.0 million to repay debt of $15.4 million otherwise due in 2010, and $14.9 million in consideration of expanded intellectual property licenses, the conversion of existing intellectual property licenses from being royalty-based to prepaid, the transfer to us of ownership of certain intellectual property rights, and $15.7 million for the termination of Motorola’s rights to distributions and payments based on the value of our company upon specified “triggering events” and mutual releases of claims. Of the total $46.0 million, we paid $23.0 million contemporaneously with the execution of the settlement agreement and the remaining $23.0 million was reflected in a promissory note. In December 2010, we paid $0.8 million to Motorola, which was applied against the promissory note principal. In May 2011, we paid $23.6 million to Motorola Solutions, Inc., Motorola’s successor, in full satisfaction of the outstanding balance of its promissory note including accrued interest. Total interest expense under the note payable totaled approximately $1.4 million and was capitalized as construction in progress.

Material Trends and Uncertainties

Our industry and customer base has historically grown as a result of:

Nonetheless, we face a number of challenges and uncertainties in operating our business, including:

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires the use of estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates including those related to revenue recognition, collectability of accounts receivable, useful lives of property and equipment, long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, inventory, deferred financing costs, asset retirement obligations, income taxes, stock-based compensation, warranty expenses, loss contingencies, and other estimates. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

The accounting policies we believe to be most critical to understanding our financial results and condition and that require complex and subjective management judgments are discussed below. Our accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 in Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” Please see the notes to our consolidated financial statements for a full discussion of these significant accounting policies.

Revenue Recognition

For revenue arrangements with multiple elements that include guaranteed minimum orders and where we determine, based on judgment, that the elements qualify as separate units of accounting, we allocate the guaranteed minimum arrangement price among the various contract elements based on each element’s relative selling price. The selling price used for each deliverable is based on vendor-specific objective evidence when available, third-party evidence when vendor-specific evidence is not available, or the estimated selling price when neither vendor-specific evidence nor third-party evidence is available. We determine vendor-specific objective evidence of selling price by assessing sales prices of subscriber equipment, airtime and other services when they are sold to customers on a stand-alone basis. We recognize revenue for each element based on the specific characteristics of that element.

We sell prepaid services in the form of e-vouchers and prepaid cards. A liability is established equal to the cash paid upon purchase for the e-voucher or prepaid card. We recognize revenue from the prepaid services (i) upon the use of the e-voucher or prepaid card by the customer; (ii) upon the expiration of the right to access the prepaid service; or (iii) when it is determined that the likelihood of the prepaid card being redeemed by the customer is remote. The likelihood of redemption is based on historical redemption patterns. If future results are not consistent with these historical patterns, and therefore actual usage results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to changes to earned and unearned revenue that could be material. We do not offer refund privileges for unused prepaid services.

Revenue associated with some of our fixed-price engineering services arrangements is recognized when the services are rendered, typically on a proportional performance method of accounting based on our estimate of total costs expected to complete the contract, and the related costs are expensed as incurred. We recognize revenue on cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangements to the extent of actual costs incurred plus an estimate of the applicable fees earned, where such estimated fees are determined using a proportional performance method calculation. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to changes to earned and unearned revenue that could be material to our results of operations.

Stock-Based Compensation

We account for stock-based compensation, which consists of stock options and restricted stock units, based on the grant date estimated fair value. In the case of restricted stock units, grant date fair value is equal to the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. In the case of stock options, grant date fair value is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. We recognize stock-based compensation on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. The Black-Scholes option pricing model requires us to make several assumptions, including expected volatility and expected term of the options. If any of the assumptions we use in the Black-Scholes option pricing model were to change significantly, stock-based compensation expense may differ materially in the future from that recorded in the current period. In addition, we are required to estimate the expected forfeiture rate and only recognize expense for those awards expected to vest. We estimate the forfeiture rate based on historical experience. To the extent our actual forfeiture rate is different from our estimate, stock-based compensation expense is adjusted accordingly.

Warranty Expenses

We estimate a provision for product returns under our standard warranty policies when it is probable that a loss has been incurred. A warranty liability is maintained based on historical experience of warranty costs and expected occurrences of warranty claims on equipment. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to changes to cost of subscriber equipment sales that could be material to our results of operations.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes using the asset and liability approach. This approach requires that we recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on differences between the financial statement bases and tax bases of our assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded based upon enacted tax rates for the period in which the deferred tax items are expected to reverse. Changes in tax laws or tax rates in various jurisdictions are reflected in the period of change. Significant judgment is required in the calculation of our tax provision and the resulting tax liabilities as well as our ability to realize our deferred tax assets. Our estimates of future taxable income and any changes to such estimates can significantly impact our tax provision in a given period. Significant judgment is required in determining our ability to realize our deferred tax assets related to federal, state and foreign tax attributes within their carryforward periods including estimating the amount and timing of the future reversal of deferred tax items in our projections of future taxable income. A valuation allowance is established to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts we expect to realize in the future. We also recognize tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions only when we estimate that it is “more likely than not” that the position will be sustainable based on its technical merits. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, this may result in material changes to our income tax provision.

Recoverability of Long-Lived Assets

We assess the recoverability of long-lived assets when indicators of impairment exist. We assess the possibility of impairment by comparing the carrying amounts of the assets to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by those assets. If we determine that an asset is impaired, we estimate the impairment loss by determining the excess of the assets’ carrying amount over their estimated fair value. Estimated fair value is based on market prices, when available, or various other valuation techniques. These techniques often include estimates and assumptions with respect to future cash flows and incremental borrowing rates. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, we may be exposed to impairment losses that could be material to our results of operations.

Property and equipment and intangible assets with finite lives are depreciated or amortized over their estimated useful lives. We apply judgment in determining the useful lives based on factors such as engineering data, our long-term strategy for using the assets, contractual terms related to the assets, laws or regulations that could impact the useful life of the assets and other economic factors. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, we may be exposed to changes to depreciation and amortization expense that could be material to our results of operations.

During 2012, we updated our analysis of the current satellite constellation’s health and remaining useful life. Based on the results of this analysis, we estimate that our current constellation of satellites will be operational for longer than previously expected. As a result, the estimated useful life of the current constellation has been extended and is also consistent with the expected deployment of Iridium NEXT. This change in estimated useful life resulted in a decrease in depreciation expense in 2012 compared to the prior year. The change in accounting estimate reduced depreciation expense in 2012 by $19.6 million.

Recoverability of Goodwill and Intangible Assets with Indefinite Lives

Goodwill

We assess the recoverability of goodwill on an annual basis or when indicators of impairment exist such as significant changes in the business climate of our industry, operating performance indicators or competition. We operate in a single reporting unit. We assess the possibility of impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the reporting unit to its estimated fair value. If we determine that goodwill is impaired, we estimate the impairment loss by determining the excess of the goodwill’s carrying amount over its estimated fair value. The estimated fair value of the goodwill is determined by reassessing the fair values of the assets and liabilities acquired in the original business combination.

When assessing goodwill for impairment, we use a market approach using comparable companies and an income approach using discounted cash flows to determine the fair value of our reporting unit. The various valuation techniques involve the use of estimates and assumptions. Significant assumptions used in the income approach include future cash flows, revenue growth, capital expenditures, working capital fluctuations, and discount rates. Significant assumptions used in the market approach include the selection of comparable companies. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, we may be exposed to impairment losses that could be material to our results of operations.

Based on the results of our most recent annual assessment performed on October 1, 2012, we concluded that the fair value of our reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount.

Intangible Assets Not Subject to Amortization

A portion of our intangible assets consists of our spectrum licenses and trade names which are indefinite-lived intangible assets. We reevaluate the indefinite life determination for these assets periodically to determine whether events and circumstances continue to support an indefinite life.

We assess the recoverability of indefinite-lived assets on an annual basis or when indicators of impairment exist. We assess the possibility of impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to its estimated fair value. If the estimated fair value of the indefinite-lived asset is less than the carrying amount, an impairment loss is recognized. We make assumptions and apply judgment in estimating the fair value based on quoted market prices and various other valuation techniques, including replacement costs, discounted cash flows methods and other market multiple analyses. The various valuation techniques require significant assumptions about future cash flows, replacement cost, revenue growth, capital expenditures, working capital fluctuations, asset life, and incremental borrowing rates. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, we may be exposed to impairment losses that could be material to our results of operations.

 Internally Developed Software

We capitalize the costs of acquiring, developing and testing software to meet our internal needs. Capitalization of costs associated with software obtained or developed for internal use commences when the preliminary project stage is complete and it is probable that the project will be completed and used to perform the function intended. Capitalized costs include external direct cost of materials and services consumed in developing or obtaining internal-use software as well as payroll and payroll-related costs for employees who are directly associated with, and devote time to, the internal-use software project. Capitalization of these costs ceases no later than the point in time at which the project is substantially complete and ready for its intended use. Internal use software costs are amortized once the software is placed in service using the straight-line method over periods ranging from three to seven years. Judgments and estimates are required in the calculation of capitalized development costs. We evaluate and estimate when the preliminary project stage is completed and the point when the project is substantially complete and ready for use, which are based on engineering data.

Deferred Financing Costs

Direct and incremental costs incurred in connection with securing debt financing are deferred on our balance sheet and then are amortized as additional interest expense using an effective interest method over the term of the related debt. The effective interest rate calculation requires us to make assumptions and estimates in determining estimated periodic interest expense. The calculation includes assumptions and estimates with respect to future borrowing dates and amounts, repayment dates and amounts, and projected future periodic LIBOR. If actual borrowing amounts and dates, repayment amounts and dates, and future LIBOR rates are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to changes that could be material to our property and equipment, net balance (since we are capitalizing interest expense as part of the cost of Iridium NEXT), deferred financing costs balance, depreciation expense, interest expense, income from operations and net income.

Comparison of Our Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2012 and the Year Ended December 31, 2011

Revenue

Total revenue remained flat year-over-year due to an increase in service revenue offset by a decrease in engineering and support services revenue. Billable subscribers at December 31, 2012 were approximately 611,000, an increase of 17% from December 31, 2011. Growth in billable subscribers drove growth in commercial services revenue. However, commercial services revenue increased only 7% despite an 18% growth in subscribers due to declines in usage revenue per subscriber in 2012 as compared to 2011, which led to lower ARPU both for commercial voice and data services and for commercial M2M data services. Engineering and support services revenue decreased from the prior year primarily due to a decline in scope of work for government-sponsored contracts.

Service Revenue

Service revenue was $273.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, an increase of 4% from the prior year, primarily due to growth in billable subscribers, partially offset by decreases in usage revenue per subscriber and the resulting declines in ARPU.

The increase in commercial voice and data revenue was principally due to growth related to our higher-ARPU Iridium OpenPort, our broadband data maritime service, and increased revenue from prepaid services. These increases were partially offset by decreases in ARPU due to a decline in average minutes of use per post-paid subscriber. Future growth in commercial voice and data revenue may be negatively affected by reductions in non-U.S. defense spending and deployed non-U.S. troop levels, although we expect continued overall growth in commercial voice subscribers and revenue in 2013.

Commercial M2M data revenue growth was driven principally by an increase in the billable subscriber base. Commercial M2M data ARPU decreased by $1 over the prior year due to the growth in subscribers using plans that generate lower revenue per unit. We anticipate an increase in M2M data revenues and a decrease in M2M data ARPU in 2013 as we expect to continue to experience further growth in our subscriber base with many subscribers utilizing lower ARPU plans.

Government voice and data revenue decreased principally due to a decline in billable voice subscribers combined with a decrease in ARPU. Government voice ARPU decreased due to a higher proportion of billable subscribers on the lower-priced plans for Netted Iridium. The increase in government M2M data revenue was driven primarily by billable subscriber growth. Government M2M data ARPU decreased compared to the prior year primarily due to growth in subscribers using plans that generate lower revenue per unit. Future growth in government voice and M2M data billable subscribers and revenue may be negatively affected by reductions in U.S. defense spending and deployed U.S. troop levels, and a corresponding decrease in subscribers under our agreements with the U.S. government, which account for a majority of our government services revenue and are subject to annual renewals.

Engineering and Support Service Revenue

Engineering and support service revenue decreased by $11.1 million, or 41%, from the prior year primarily due to a decline in the scope of work for our government-sponsored contracts. We anticipate an increase in the scope of work for government contracts in 2013 resulting in overall growth in engineering and support service revenue as compared to 2012.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses decreased by 9% to $278.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from $307.3 million for the prior year. This decrease was primarily due to decreased cost of services and decreased depreciation and amortization.

Cost of Services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) includes the cost of network engineering and operations staff, including contractors, software maintenance, product support services and cost of services for government and commercial engineering and support service revenue.

Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) decreased by 14% to $60.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from $71.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 primarily due to the decline in the scope of work for our government-sponsored engineering and support contracts, which had corresponding impacts on both revenue and cost of services.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses decreased by 17% to $15.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from $18.7 million for the prior year primarily due to research and development costs incurred in 2011 related to the development of the Iridium Extreme, which did not recur in 2012.

Selling, General and Administrative

Selling, general and administrative expenses include sales and marketing costs as well as legal, finance, information technology, facilities, billing and customer care expenses.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 3% to $67.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from $65.7 million for the prior year primarily due to a $1.0 million increase in employee-related costs and a $0.7 million increase in bad debt expense related to a potentially uncollectible portion of an outstanding receivable balance. Future selling, general and administrative expenses may be negatively affected by our ability to collect amounts on accounts receivable with specific customers; we will continue to evaluate all receivables for collectability.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization expenses decreased by 17% to $81.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from $97.6 million for the prior year. The decrease was driven by the increase in the estimated useful lives of our satellites, which resulted in a $19.6 million decrease in depreciation expense for 2012 compared to the prior year. This decrease was partially offset by a $2.0 million impairment charge within depreciation expense related to the impairment of an in-orbit satellite with which we lost communication during the third quarter of 2012.

Other Expense

Undrawn Credit Facility Fees

The commitment fee on the undrawn portion of the Credit Facility was $10.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to $12.5 million for the prior year. The decrease of the commitment fee on the undrawn portion was directly proportionate to the increase in the amounts borrowed under the Credit Facility as we finance the development of Iridium NEXT. As we continue to draw additional amounts under the Credit Facility, the undrawn portion and related fees will decrease.

Other Expense, net

Other expense, net increased to $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from $0.1 million for the prior year. The increase resulted from our share of the loss from our equity method investment in Aireon from November 19, 2012 through December 31, 2012. Following NAV CANADA’s purchase of Aireon Series A preferred membership interests in November 2012, Aireon is now accounted for as an equity method investment within our financial statements, and our investment is included within other assets on the consolidated balance sheet. Prior to November 19, 2012, we consolidated Aireon’s results with our results as a wholly owned subsidiary. As our equity investment in Aireon did not commence until 2012, there were no similar amounts in the prior year.

Provision for Income Taxes

For the year ended December 31, 2012, our income tax provision was $30.4 million compared to $24.5 million for the prior year. Our effective tax rate was approximately 32.0% for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to 37.4% for the prior year period. The increase in the income tax provision was primarily related to an increase in our income before income taxes combined with an increase related to the partial valuation allowance on our Arizona net operating losses compared to the prior year. The increase was partially offset by the increase in the net benefit related to the impact of the change in Arizona tax laws compared to the prior years. The decrease in our effective tax rate was primarily due to the Arizona law change described above. As our current estimates change in future periods, the impact on the deferred tax assets and liabilities may change correspondingly.

Comparison of Our Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2011 and Combined Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2010

Revenue

Total revenue increased by 10% for the year ended December 31, 2011, compared to the prior year, principally due to growth in billable subscribers, which drove growth in commercial and government services revenue as well as increased sales of subscriber equipment. Billable subscribers at December 31, 2011 were approximately 523,000, an increase of 22% from December 31, 2010.

Service Revenue

Service revenue was $262.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 11% from the prior year, primarily due to growth in billable subscribers in commercial and government services.

The increase in commercial voice and data revenue was principally due to billable subscriber growth, including growth related to Iridium OpenPort, our broadband data maritime service, and an increase in usage of pre-paid minutes, partially offset by a decrease in ARPU. Commercial voice ARPU decreased by $3 over the comparative period due to a decline in average minutes of use per postpaid subscriber, partially offset by growth in the higher ARPU Iridium OpenPort service. Commercial M2M data revenue growth was driven principally by an increase in the billable subscriber base. Commercial M2M data ARPU decreased by $2 over the comparative period due to the growth in subscribers using plans that generate lower revenue per unit.

The increase in government voice and data revenue was principally due to billable subscriber growth, including growth related to Netted Iridium, a service that provides beyond-line-of-sight, push-to-talk capability for user-defined groups. The increase in government M2M data revenue was driven primarily by billable subscriber growth. Government voice ARPU decreased by $5 over the comparative period due to a higher proportion of billable subscribers on the lower priced Netted Iridium plan. Government M2M data ARPU was flat year over year.

Subscriber Equipment Revenue

Subscriber equipment revenue increased to $94.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 5% from the prior year. The increase in subscriber equipment revenue was primarily due to increased volume in M2M data device and handset sales. These increases were partially offset by decreases in handset unit prices and the lower selling price of the Iridium 9602 full-duplex short-burst data transceiver, introduced in May 2010, which is less expensive than its predecessor, the Iridium 9601.

Engineering and Support Service Revenue

Engineering and support service revenue increased by $5.7 million, or 26%, from the prior year primarily due to an increase in the level of effort for a gateway upgrade project for the U.S. government, partially offset by decreases in government sponsored research and development contracts.

Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses decreased by 1% to $307.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $310.8 million for the prior year. This decrease was due to decreased cost of subscriber equipment, decreased cost of services and decreased selling, general and administrative expenses. The decrease was partially offset by increased depreciation and amortization.

Cost of Services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) decreased by 2% to $71.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $72.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 primarily due to the result of a favorable contract renegotiation with The Boeing Company in July 2010 that resulted in lower operations and maintenance expenses for the full 2011 year. These lower expenses were partially offset by costs associated with an increase in the level of effort for a gateway upgrade project for the U.S. government.

Cost of Subscriber Equipment

Cost of subscriber equipment sales decreased by 12% to $54.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $61.7 million for the prior year primarily as a result of the $10.9 million impact of acquisition accounting during 2010 that increased the inventory basis and therefore increased the related cost of subscriber equipment sold during 2010. This decrease was partially offset by costs related to increased subscriber equipment sales.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses decreased by 3% to $18.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $19.2 million for the prior year primarily as a result of decreased expenses related to Iridium NEXT projects as they transitioned out of the research and development stage, partially offset by an increase in expenses related to new product development projects.

Selling, General and Administrative

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by 2% to $65.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $66.7 million for the prior year primarily due to decreases in professional fees and employee-related costs.

Depreciation and Amortization