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Iridium and Qualcomm Add L‑Band Satellite Connectivity to Snapdragon Mission Tactical Radio

EMSS activation remains pending final commercial agreements among Qualcomm, Iridium, and OEM partners.

Overview

  • The companies publicly demonstrated the integrated capability at the AUSA annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Oct. 13–15, 2025.
  • Snapdragon MTR now consolidates Iridium Short Burst Data for low‑latency messaging and Iridium Burst for wide‑area broadcasts on a single chipset.
  • The integration targets handheld and vehicle‑mounted radios as well as autonomous systems used where terrestrial networks are congested, compromised, or unavailable.
  • Qualcomm’s cellular, Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, and GNSS features pair with Iridium’s L‑band links to meet strict size, weight, power, and cost requirements.
  • Iridium data services are also being developed for the Snapdragon X75 as an M.2 modem module to support specialized government solutions.