- Mavenir will deploy its containerised Converged Packet Core on AWS to support Iridium’s NTN, enabling standards-based non-terrestrial connectivity.
- The deal supports integration of NB-IoT, IP/UDP/TCP & Non-IP delivery, and prepares Iridium for a migration path toward D2D service.
What happened: Iridium has selected US vendor Mavenir
Iridium Communications has chosen Mavenir, a US telecoms software supplier, to deliver the core network functions for its non-terrestrial network (NTN) offering. Under the agreement Mavenir will deploy its containerised, cloud-native Converged Packet Core, hosted in Iridium’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environment.
The solution will include key core functions such as Session Management, User Plane, Policy Control, Subscriber Management, Network Exposure, and messaging. It will be built for high availability and geo-redundancy across multiple AWS regions.
Integration with Iridium’s existing provisioning and billing systems is part of the plan. Support for IoT traffic over NB-IoT as well as multiple interfaces (IP, UDP, TCP, Non-IP Data Delivery, or NIDD) is included. Iridium says this core network will accelerate its NTN Direct service. It also gives a migration path toward 5G New Radio (NR) and future Device-to-Device (D2D) connectivity, using the same backend.
Also Read: Deutsche Telekom teams up with Iridium for IoT links
Also Read: Deutsche Telekom and Unikie test 5G vehicle logistics system
Why it’s important
This deal shows that satellite operators are moving past old designs into cloud-native systems that follow 3GPP standards. The way to join terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks in one core brings new options for IoT and remote connectivity across the world.
By using AWS infrastructure with containerised core network functions, Iridium sets itself up to scale well, keep redundancy, and cut latency or service problems. The support for NB-IoT and Non-IP Data Delivery is crucial for many IoT use cases, especially where devices send small or irregular packets, or operate in remote locations.
Also, offering a migration route to D2D over satellite is significant. More use cases now need direct communication between devices, like in remote monitoring, disaster zones, or vehicle-to-everything systems. The infrastructure must be ready for this.
