Mavenir Selected by Iridium to Deliver Core Network for Global Satellite Based NB-IoT and D2D Services
Strategic partnership to accelerate Iridium NTN Direct services and satellite-terrestrial NB-IoT integration
RICHARDSON, Texas, Sept. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mavenir, the cloud-native network infrastructure provider building the future of networks, today announced it has been selected by Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM), a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, to deploy the Core Network of its Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), helping to enable - 3GPP based Direct-to-Device (D2D) services.
In support of Iridium NTN DirectSM, Mavenir will deliver its fully containerized, cloud-native Converged Packet Core solution, hosted in Iridium’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environment. The deployment supports Iridium’s strategy to offer 3GPP standards-based NTN capabilities over its existing satellite network, while maintaining readiness for future D2D offerings.
Ashok Khuntia, President of Core Networks for Mavenir said: “This collaboration with Iridium is a strategic milestone in Mavenir’s mission to enable seamless connectivity across terrestrial and non-terrestrial domains. By deploying our cloud-native Converged Packet Core on AWS, we’re helping Iridium deliver global NB-IoT services today - It’s a powerful demonstration of how Mavenir’s flexible, scalable core solutions can adapt to meet the evolving needs of satellite-driven networks.”
Mavenir’s solution includes a full suite of core network functions - such as Converged Session Management Function, Converged User Plane Function, Policy Control, Subscriber Management, Network Exposure Function, and messaging capabilities - supported by a centralized operations and analytics platform. The solution is designed for high availability and geo-redundancy across multiple AWS regions.
Tim Last, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Iridium said: “As we prepare to launch Iridium NTN Direct, our partnership with Mavenir will help ensure a strong foundation for the service. Whether it’s for IoT or D2D, Iridium NTN Direct will provide a truly global, reliable, and future-ready solution for MNOs, chipmakers, and consumers worldwide.”
The project enables easy integration with Iridium’s existing provisioning and billing systems, while also supporting NB-IoT traffic delivery across multiple interfaces including IP, UDP, TCP, and Non-IP Data Delivery (NIDD). Future evolution toward 5G NR will allow Iridium to use the same backend infrastructure for a smooth and low-downtime migration path to D2D connectivity.
This latest win enhances Mavenir’s growing NTN portfolio and highlights its ability to enable satellite operators with proven, standards-compliant packet core solutions that are optimized for cloud-native deployment environments.
About Mavenir
Mavenir is building the future of networks today with cloud-native, AI-enabled solutions which are green by design, empowering operators to realize the benefits of 5G and achieve intelligent, automated, programmable networks. As the pioneer of Open RAN and a proven industry disruptor, Mavenir’s award-winning solutions are delivering automation and monetization across mobile networks globally, accelerating software network transformation for 300+ Communications Service Providers in over 120 countries, which serve more than 50% of the world’s subscribers. For more information, please visit www.mavenir.com
For more information about Iridium NTN Direct, visit: www.iridium.com/ntn-direct/
Media Contacts
Mavenir PR Contacts:
Emmanuela Spiteri
PR@mavenir.com
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
