Collection: Iridium Modems

No, not unless a specific development kit or bundle says otherwise.

For a bare modem, you are responsible for selecting and integrating the correct antenna system. Antenna choice, cable loss, placement, ground plane, enclosure materials, and installation environment can all affect performance and certification.

Yes. Bare Iridium modems using SBD or IMT can work with Cloudloop services, including Cloudloop Data and Cloudloop Subscription Manager.

Cloudloop Data handles message routing between your devices and your application, API, webhook, cloud service, storage, queue, or dashboard.

Cloudloop Subscription Manager handles the operational side: airtime plans, billing, usage monitoring, alerts, suspension, and device status across your deployed devices.

Setup depends on the modem, service type, airtime plan, and account structure, so contact us if you are planning a bare modem integration.

Iridium 9603 is a compact Iridium SBD modem for small satellite messages.

Iridium 9604 adds LTE-M cellular and GNSS to Iridium SBD in a small surface mount module, making it a better fit for hybrid cellular-first devices that need satellite fallback.

Iridium 9704 uses Iridium Messaging Transport for larger message payloads, up to 100 KB, but doesn't provide LTE-M cellular connectivity.

Choose a bare Iridium modem if you are building your own commercial hardware and want to design directly around the satellite module.

Choose RockBLOCK if you want Ground Control to handle more of the integration work for you. RockBLOCK devices reduce the amount of power design, RF design, antenna integration, enclosure planning, and certification work you need to take on yourself.

In many cases, yes.

The modem may already have module-level approvals, but your finished device can still need certification depending on how it is integrated, which antenna you use, where it will be sold or deployed, and which satellite or cellular services it uses.

Plan certification work early. If you want to avoid as much of that process as possible, start with RockBLOCK instead.

Yes. Like all satellite devices, antenna placement matters. The patch antenna option is suitable when the module can "see" the sky, including through some non-metallic enclosures. If the module will sit deeper inside an enclosure, or behind metal, use the SMA variant with a suitable external antenna.

Airtime is purchased separately from the hardware.

For RockBLOCK devices, airtime is fully self serve in Cloudloop. Once your device arrives, you can activate it, choose airtime, and start sending messages.

You can also buy SBD and IMT airtime from Ground Control for compatible devices purchased elsewhere. If you buy RockBLOCK hardware from us but want to use another airtime provider, a device unlocking fee may apply.

RockREMOTE and Certus 100 airtime is set up separately, with Cloudloop available for ongoing subscription, usage, and device management.