Iridium Push To Talk (PTT) service - delivered by AST Systems Ltd

Later this month, AST Systems will deliver another first – the first shipment of iCom PTT vehicle docking stations to one of our partners. Dispatch of the hardware only tells a small part of the story, and it has taken some time to reach this point.

Our customer, an International Humanitarian organization needs their remote offices to stay in constant communication with field teams.

Their biggest challenges were a combination of old (often incomplete) hardware, and non-trained operators. This resulted in significant waste of already tight resources – both financial in terms of buying replacement accessories and components, and (re)training staff. Add a lack of engineers to carry out installs and required repair work, the situation was far from ideal. Enter AST.

 AST Systems first successfully demonstrated the Iridium PTT  service to this customer in the UK in early 2018 – they were very impressed with the quality and simplicity of use.

A further in-field trial took place at a remote site in East Africa, which led to their first deployment and commercial activation of the Iridium PTT service – using 9575 Extreme handsets.

Additional country programs adopted the service in 2019, using the Iridium 9575 PTT handset and both in-building and in-vehicle docking kits.

As a wide user of handheld VHF radios throughout their various field programs, the customer was understandable very keen to learn about the iCom SAT100 handset – also operating on the Iridium PTT service.

A successful demonstration at AST Systems premises in the UK and customer filed trials in East Africa were soon followed by a Purchase Order for the new hardware – added to the existing in-field service.

The final ‘plot twist’, involved another AST Systems customer: - an established vehicle integrator, and also a trusted supplier to our Humanitarian Partner.

Our Humanitarian Partner were determined to have Iridium PTT integrated into the vehicles at point of manufacture. So AST Systems worked with the Vvehicle Integrator, to introduce the Iridium PTT hardware and service to their engineers, allowing them to provide a seamless install for our valued partner.

Iridium PTT has now been successfully added to their portfolio of value-adds, and we look forward to supporting both our customers for future projects.

 At AST Systems we pride ourselves on being able to design, deliver and support complex projects using the latest technology. We are independent and not obligated to any one service type or provider. We can truly work with the providers who best meet the customer's needs.

Our partners operate in some of the remotest and harshest environments in the world, often at a moment’s notice. AST Systems understand that what we provide is critical to organisations, and essential to users.

With over 25 years’ experience in the satellite industry, if you need to connect, you need to speak to us.