Kobelco Equipment. Photo: Kobelco Construction Machinery
Iridium Communications revealed Wednesday that Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Kobelco Construction Machinery (KCM) integrated Iridium's satcom connectivity into its hydraulic excavator machinery, heavy equipment, and the KOMEXS remote asset management platform. Iridium's service provides KCM equipment global coverage for the first time, as well as programming deployed assets to provide automated recurring telematics and equipment health updates, while also enabling customers to request real-time reports.
During the Third Quarter (Q3) 2020, Iridium commercial Internet of Things (IoT) subscribers grew 20% from the same period a year ago – adding a net 67,000 subscribers. Additionally, at World Satellite Business Week on Tuesday, Iridum CEO Matt Desch said the company is building partnerships to integrate Iridium technology into other companies' products. He said they're finding that Iridium's technology is applicable to other highly mobile applications, and the fastest growing include autonomous vehicle monitoring, drones, and autonomous shipping.
"As the need for real-time, global communications solutions continues to increase, Iridium and KCM are delivering reliable, effective and weather-resilient connectivity for KCM's vast customer base," says Bryan Hartin, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Iridium. "This partnership solidifies Iridium's leadership position in providing global satellite industrial-IoT communications within the heavy equipment industry."