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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
 
(Mark One)
x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2021
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Commission File Number 001-33963  
Iridium Communications Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DE 26-1344998
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 1400, McLean, VA 22102
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
703-287-7400
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:
Title of Each Class Trading Symbol Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, $0.001 par value IRDM The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
(Nasdaq Global Select Market)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  x    No  ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 
Large Accelerated Filer x     Accelerated Filer ¨
Non-Accelerated Filer ¨   Smaller Reporting Company ¨
    Emerging Growth Company ¨
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  x
The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, outstanding as of April 14, 2021 was 133,478,837.



IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
Item No.         Page
       
   
         
       
         
     
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ITEM  2.    
18
         
ITEM  3.    
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ITEM  4.    
26
       
   
         
ITEM  1.    
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ITEM  1A.    
27
         
ITEM  2.    
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ITEM  3.    
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ITEM  4.    
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ITEM  5.    
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ITEM  6.    
28
         
     
29

2


PART I.
Iridium Communications Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except per share data)
  March 31,
2021
December 31, 2020
(Unaudited)  
Assets    
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 214,835  $ 237,178 
Marketable securities 7,481  7,548 
Accounts receivable, net 59,895  61,151 
Inventory 30,015  32,480 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 10,087  9,464 
Total current assets 322,313  347,821 
Property and equipment, net 2,851,145  2,917,076 
Other assets 47,983  50,548 
Intangible assets, net 45,117  45,504 
Total assets $ 3,266,558  $ 3,360,949 
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity    
Current liabilities:    
Short-term secured debt $ 16,500  $ 16,766 
Accounts payable 9,909  14,390 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 34,503  49,504 
Deferred revenue 27,405  32,412 
Total current liabilities 88,317  113,072 
Long-term secured debt, net 1,593,955  1,596,893 
Deferred income tax liabilities, net 146,233  155,084 
Deferred revenue, net of current portion 50,017  51,258 
Other long-term liabilities 24,258  25,203 
Total liabilities 1,902,780  1,941,510 
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:    
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 300,000 shares authorized, 133,476 and 134,056 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively 133  134 
Additional paid-in capital 1,152,569  1,160,570 
Retained earnings 225,170  275,915 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax (14,094) (17,180)
Total stockholders’ equity 1,363,778  1,419,439 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 3,266,558  $ 3,360,949 









See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
3


Iridium Communications Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31,
  2021 2020
Revenue:
Services $ 116,152  $ 115,975 
Subscriber equipment 23,953  22,263 
Engineering and support services 6,430  7,049 
Total revenue 146,535  145,287 
Operating expenses:    
Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) 23,207  21,978 
Cost of subscriber equipment 13,028  12,274 
Research and development 2,717  2,444 
Selling, general and administrative 22,657  20,825 
Depreciation and amortization 75,910  75,944 
Total operating expenses 137,519  133,465 
Operating income 9,016  11,822 
Other expense, net:    
Interest expense, net (22,769) (26,444)
Loss on extinguishment of debt —  (30,209)
Other income (expense), net (28) 447 
Total other expense, net (22,797) (56,206)
Loss before income taxes (13,781) (44,384)
Income tax benefit 8,598  12,682 
Net loss (5,183) (31,702)
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted 135,068  132,645 
Net loss attributable to common stockholders per share - basic and diluted $ (0.04) $ (0.24)
Comprehensive loss:
Net loss $ (5,183) $ (31,702)
Foreign currency translation adjustments (760) (3,986)
Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges, net of tax (see Note 6)
3,843  (11,888)
Unrealized gain on marketable securities, net of tax — 
Comprehensive loss $ (2,097) $ (47,576)













See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
4


Iridium Communications Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
Additional Paid-In Capital Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Loss
Retained
Earnings
Total Stockholders' Equity Additional Paid-In Capital Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Loss
Retained
Earnings
Total Stockholders' Equity
Common Stock Common Stock
Shares Amount Shares Amount
Balances at beginning of period 134,056  $ 134  $ 1,160,570  $ (17,180) $ 275,915  $ 1,419,439  131,632  $ 132  $ 1,134,048  $ (6,867) $ 331,969  $ 1,459,282 
Stock-based compensation —  —  5,575  —  —  5,575  —  —  4,100  —  —  4,100 
Stock options exercised and awards vested 1,099  4,393  —  —  4,394  713  —  1,171  —  —  1,171 
Stock withheld to cover employee taxes (101) —  (4,198) —  —  (4,198) (118) —  (3,184) —  —  (3,184)
Repurchases and retirements of common stock (1,578) (2) (13,771) —  (45,562) (59,335) —  —  —  —  —  — 
Cumulative translation adjustments —  —  —  (760) —  (760) —  —  —  (3,986) —  (3,986)
Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedge, net of tax —  —  —  3,843  —  3,843  —  —  —  (11,888) —  (11,888)
Unrealized gain on marketable securities, net of tax —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  — 
Net loss —  —  —  —  (5,183) (5,183) —  —  —  —  (31,702) (31,702)
Balances at end of period 133,476  $ 133  $ 1,152,569  $ (14,094) $ 225,170  $ 1,363,778  132,227  $ 132  $ 1,136,135  $ (22,741) $ 300,267  $ 1,413,793 

































See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
5


Iridium Communications Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
  Three Months Ended March 31,
2021 2020
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss $ (5,183) $ (31,702)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
Deferred income taxes (8,851) (17,150)
Depreciation and amortization 75,910  75,944 
Loss on extinguishment of debt —  30,209 
Stock-based compensation (net of amounts capitalized) 4,906  3,698 
Amortization of deferred financing fees 949  890 
All other items, net (519) (64)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable 1,535  3,600 
Inventory 2,561  2,300 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (634) (688)
Other assets 967  2,769 
Accounts payable (4,233) 2,320 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (9,474) (20,117)
Interest payable (46) (7,071)
Deferred revenue (6,156) (6,607)
Other long-term liabilities (966) 2,482 
Net cash provided by operating activities 50,766  40,813 
Cash flows from investing activities:    
Capital expenditures (9,417) (9,487)
Net cash used in investing activities (9,417) (9,487)
Cash flows from financing activities:    
Borrowings under the Term Loan —  202,000 
Payments on the Term Loan (4,125) — 
Repayments on the senior unsecured notes, including extinguishment costs —  (383,451)
Payment of deferred financing fees —  (2,562)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options 4,394  1,172 
Tax payment upon settlement of stock awards (4,198) (3,184)
Repurchases of common stock (59,335) — 
Net cash used in financing activities (63,264) (186,025)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash (428) (1,573)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash (22,343) (156,272)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period 237,178  223,561 
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period $ 214,835  $ 67,289 




See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
6


  Three Months Ended March 31,
2021 2020
Supplemental cash flow information:
Interest paid, net of amounts capitalized $ 21,842  $ 33,366 
Income taxes paid, net $ 520  $ 254 
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:    
Property and equipment received but not paid $ 3,163  $ 2,285 
Capitalized amortization of deferred financing costs $ 29  $ 21 
Capitalized stock-based compensation $ 669  $ 402 
Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges, net of tax $ 3,843  $ (11,888)






























See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
7


Iridium Communications Inc.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
1. Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
Iridium Communications Inc. (the “Company”) has prepared its condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of (i) the Company, (ii) its wholly owned subsidiaries, and (iii) all less than wholly owned subsidiaries that the Company controls. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.
In the opinion of management, the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments that the Company considers necessary for the fair presentation of its results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods covered, and of the financial position of the Company at the date of the interim condensed consolidated balance sheet. The operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the entire year. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to instructions, rules and regulations prescribed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021.

2. Significant Accounting Policies

Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”). This guidance amends certain aspects of the accounting for income taxes. Adoption of ASU 2019-12 had no impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Recent Accounting Developments Not Yet Adopted

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (“ASU 2020-04”). The guidance provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference London Inter-bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. ASU 2020-04 was further amended in January 2021 by ASU 2021-01 which clarified the applicability of certain provisions. Both ASU 2020-04 and ASU 2021-01 are currently effective prospectively for all entities through December 21, 2022 when the reference rate replacement activity is expected to have completed. The guidance in ASU 2020-04 and ASU 2021-01 is optional and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. As of March 31, 2021, the Company has not yet modified any contracts as a result of reference rate reform and is evaluating the impact this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company evaluates assets and liabilities subject to fair value measurements on a recurring and non-recurring basis to determine the appropriate level to classify them for each reporting period. This determination requires significant judgments to be made by management of the Company. Fair value is the price that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability assuming an orderly transaction in the most advantageous market at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP establishes a hierarchical disclosure framework which prioritizes and ranks the level of observability of inputs used in measuring fair value.

The fair value hierarchy consists of the following tiers:

Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2, defined as observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; and

Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

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The carrying values of the following financial instruments approximated their fair values as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020: cash and cash equivalents, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other current liabilities. Fair values approximate their carrying values because of their short-term nature. The Level 2 cash equivalents include money market funds, commercial paper and short-term U.S. agency securities. The Company also classifies its fixed income debt investments and derivative financial instruments as Level 2. The Company did not hold any Level 3 assets as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.

The fair values of the Company’s Level 2 estimates are based upon certain market assumptions and information available to the Company. In determining fair value, the Company uses a market approach utilizing valuation models that incorporate observable inputs such as interest rates, bond yields and quoted prices for similar assets.

Leases

For new leases, the Company will determine if an arrangement is or contains a lease at inception. Leases are included as right-of-use (“ROU”) assets within other assets and ROU liabilities within accrued expenses and other liabilities and within other long-term liabilities on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets.

ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Certain leases contain variable contractual obligations as a result of future base rate escalations which are estimated based on observed trends and included within the measurement of present value. The Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate. The Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The ROU asset also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company has lease agreements with lease and non-lease components, which are generally accounted for separately. For certain leases, such as teleport network (“TPN”) facilities, the Company elected the practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components as a single lease component. Taxes assessed on leases in which the Company is either a lessor or lessee are excluded from contract consideration and variable payments when measuring new lease contracts or remeasuring existing lease contracts.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company uses interest rate swap agreements to manage its exposures to fluctuating interest rate risk on variable rate debt. Its derivatives are measured at fair value and are recorded on the balance sheets within other current and other long-term liabilities. The Company’s derivatives are designated as cash flow hedges, with the effective portion of the changes in fair value of the derivatives recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss within the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and subsequently recognized in earnings when the hedged items impact earnings. Any ineffective portion of cash flow hedges would be recorded in current earnings. Within the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, the gains and losses related to cash flow hedges are recognized within interest income (expense), net, as this is the same financial statement line item used for any gains or losses associated with the hedged items. Cash flows from hedging activities are included in operating activities within the company’s consolidated statements of cash flows, which is the same category as the items being hedged. See Note 6 for further information.

3. Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The following table summarizes the Company’s cash and cash equivalents:
March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 Recurring Fair
Value Measurement
  (in thousands)  
Cash and cash equivalents:  
Cash $ 13,668  $ 27,168   
Money market funds $ 201,167  $ 208,005  Level 2
Fixed income debt securities $ —  $ 2,005  Level 2
Total cash and cash equivalents $ 214,835  $ 237,178   

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Marketable Securities

As of March 31, 2021, the Company's marketable securities consisted of only fixed income debt securities. The amortized cost of these securities amounted to $7.5 million and $7.6 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. The estimated fair value of these securities amounted to $7.5 million as of each of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. The gross unrealized gains and gross unrealized losses on these marketable securities were not material as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. All marketable securities are classified as Level 2 investments in the fair value hierarchy. The Company determined that any decline in fair value of these investments is temporary as the Company does not intend to sell these securities and it is not likely that the Company will be required to sell the securities before the recovery of their amortized cost basis.

The following table presents the contractual maturities of the Company's fixed income debt securities:

March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Amortized Cost Fair Value Amortized Cost Fair Value
(In thousands) (In thousands)
Mature within one year $ 5,469  $ 5,466  $ 5,530  $ 5,525 
Mature after one year and within three years 2,015  2,015  2,024  2,023 
Total $ 7,484  $ 7,481  $ 7,554  $ 7,548 

4. Leases

Lessor Arrangements
Operating leases in which the Company is a lessor consist primarily of hosting agreements with Aireon LLC (“Aireon”) (see Note 12) and L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (“L3Harris”) for space on the Company’s satellites. These agreements provide for a fee that will be recognized over the life of the satellites, currently estimated to be approximately 12.5 years. Lease income related to these agreements was $5.4 million for each of the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020. Lease income is recorded as hosted payload and other data service revenue within service revenue on the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Both Aireon and L3Harris have made payments pursuant to their hosting agreements and the Company expects they will continue to do so. Future income with respect to the Company’s operating leases in which it is the lessor existing at March 31, 2021, exclusive of the $5.4 million recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2021, by year and in the aggregate, is as follows:
Year Ending December 31, Amount
(in thousands)
2021 $ 16,084 
2022 21,445 
2023 21,445 
2024 21,445 
2025 21,445 
   Thereafter 98,907 
Total lease income $ 200,771 

5. Debt

Term Loan and Revolving Facility

On November 4, 2019, pursuant to a loan agreement (as amended to date, the “Credit Agreement”) the Company entered into a $1,450.0 million term loan with Deutsche Bank AG (the “Term Loan”) and an accompanying $100.0 million revolving loan (the “Revolving Facility”). The Term Loan was issued at a price equal to 99.5% of its face value. While it initially bore interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 3.75%, with a 1.0% LIBOR floor, it was repriced in January 2021. It now bears interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 2.75%, with a 1.0% LIBOR floor, with a maturity date in November 2026. The interest rate on the Revolving Facility remains at LIBOR plus 3.75% with no LIBOR floor, and a maturity date in November 2024. Principal payments, which are payable quarterly and began on June 30, 2020, equal $16.5 million per annum (one percent of the full
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amount of the loan following the additional $200.0 million drawn on February 7, 2020, as noted below), with the remaining principal due upon maturity.

On February 7, 2020, the Company closed on an additional $200.0 million under its Term Loan. On February 13, 2020, the Company used these proceeds, together with cash on hand, to prepay and retire all of the indebtedness outstanding under the senior unsecured notes (the “Notes”), including premiums for early prepayment. The additional amount is fungible with the original $1,450.0 million, having the same maturity date, interest rate and other terms, but was issued at a 1.0% premium to face value. To prepay the Notes, the Company paid a call price equal to the present value at the redemption rate of (i) 105.125% of the $360.0 million principal amount of the Notes plus (ii) all interest due through the first call date in April 2020, representing a total call premium of $23.5 million, plus all accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. As a result of the prepayment, the Company also wrote off the remaining unamortized debt issuance costs, which resulted in a $30.2 million loss on extinguishment of debt.

As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company reported an aggregate of $1,633.5 million and $1,637.6 million in borrowings under the Term Loan, respectively. These amounts are before $23.0 million and $24.0 million of net unamortized deferred financing costs as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively. The net principal balance in borrowings in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 amounted to $1,610.5 million and $1,613.6 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, based upon over-the-counter bid levels (Level 2 - market approach), the fair value of the borrowings under the Term Loan due in 2026 was $1,638.6 million and $1,647.9 million, respectively. The Company had not borrowed under the Revolving Facility as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.

The Credit Agreement restricts the Company’s ability to incur liens, engage in mergers or asset sales, pay dividends, repay subordinated indebtedness, incur indebtedness, make investments and loans, and engage in other transactions as specified in the Credit Agreement, and also contains a mandatory prepayment sweep mechanism with respect to a portion of the Company’s excess cash flow (as defined in the Credit Agreement). The Credit Agreement provides for specified exceptions, baskets measured as a percentage of trailing twelve months of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), and unlimited exceptions in the case of incurring indebtedness and liens and making investments, dividend payments, and payments of subordinated indebtedness, as well as a phase-out of the mandatory excess cash flow prepayments, based on achievement and maintenance of specified leverage ratios. The Company’s mandatory excess cash flow prepayment, as specified in the Credit Agreement, was $12.7 million as of December 31, 2020. This amount will be paid in the second quarter of 2021 and counts towards the Company's required quarterly principal payments. As such, it was classified under current short-term secured debt in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2021. The Credit Agreement permits repayment, prepayment, and repricing transactions.

The Credit Agreement contains no financial maintenance covenants with respect to the Term Loan. With respect to the Revolving Facility, the Credit Agreement requires the Company to maintain a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement) of no greater than 6.25 to 1 if more than 35% of the Revolving Facility has been drawn. The Credit Agreement contains other customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default. The Company was in compliance with all covenants as of March 31, 2021.

Interest on Debt

Total interest incurred was $23.8 million and $27.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. To reprice the Term Loan, the Company incurred financing costs of $3.6 million, which were expensed and are included within interest expense on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2021. There were no such costs during the three months ended March 31, 2020. Interest incurred includes amortization of deferred financing fees of $1.0 million and $0.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Interest capitalized was $0.6 million and $0.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Accrued interest was $0.2 million as of each of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.

6. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company is exposed to interest rate fluctuations related to its Term Loan. The Company has reduced its exposure to fluctuations in the cash flows associated with changes in the variable interest rate by entering into offsetting positions through the use of interest rate swap contracts which result in recognizing a fixed interest rate for the portion of the Term Loan. This will reduce the negative impact of increases in the variable rate over the term of the interest rate swap contracts. These financial instruments are not used for trading or other speculative purposes. Historically, the Company has not incurred, and does not expect to incur in the future, any losses as a result of counterparty default.

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Hedge effectiveness of interest rate swap contracts is based on a long-haul hypothetical derivative methodology and includes all changes in value. The Company formally assesses, both at the hedge’s inception and on an ongoing quarterly basis, whether the designated derivative instruments are highly effective in offsetting changes in the cash flows of the hedged items. When the hedging instrument is sold, expires, is terminated or is exercised, or no longer qualifies for hedge accounting, or is no longer probable, hedge accounting is discontinued prospectively.

Interest Rate Swaps

On November 27, 2019, the Company executed a long-term interest rate swap (“Swap”) effective through November 2021 to mitigate variability in forecasted interest payments on a portion of the Company’s borrowings under its Term Loan. On the last business day of each month, the Company receives variable interest payments based on one-month LIBOR from the counterparty. The Company also entered into an interest rate swaption agreement (“Swaption”) that, if executed on November 22, 2021, would extend the Company's Swap through November 2026. The Company pays a fixed annual rate of 0.50% for the Swaption and a fixed rate of 1.565% on the Swap. Both the Swap and the Swaption derivative instruments carried a notional amount of $1,000.0 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. The Company has designated both the Swap and Swaption as qualifying hedging instruments and accounts for these derivatives as cash flow hedges.

At inception, the Swap and Swaption were designated as cash flow hedges for hedge accounting. The unrealized changes in market value are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss and reclassified into earnings during the period in which the hedged transaction affects earnings. Over the next 12 months, the Company expects any gains or losses for cash flow hedges reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss into earnings to have an immaterial impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.
Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

As of March 31, 2021, the Company had a current liability balance of $3.8 million and $0.8 million, for the fair value of the Swap and Swaption, respectively, recorded in other current liabilities. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had a current liability balance of $5.2 million and $4.4 million, for the fair value of the Swap and Swaption, respectively, recorded in other current liabilities.

During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company collectively incurred $2.7 million and $1.0 million, respectively, in net interest expense for the Swap and the Swaption. Gains and losses resulting from fair value adjustments to the Swap and Swaption are recorded within accumulated other comprehensive loss within the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets and reclassified to interest expense on the dates that interest payments become due. Cash flows related to the Swap are included in cash flows from operating activities on the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. The amount of unrealized loss related to the Swap and Swaption that was recorded in comprehensive loss in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss was $3.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, net of a $1.2 million tax impact, and $11.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, net of a $4.2 million tax impact. There were no gains or losses related to derivative financial instruments during the three months ended March 31, 2020.

7. Stock-Based Compensation

In May 2019, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the Company’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (as so amended and restated, the “Amended 2015 Plan”), primarily to increase the number of shares available under the plan. The Company registered with the SEC an additional 2,542,664 shares of common stock made available for issuance pursuant to the Amended 2015 Plan, bringing the total to 30,944,912 shares registered. As of March 31, 2021, the remaining aggregate number of shares of the Company’s common stock available for future grants under the Amended 2015 Plan was 10,445,256. The Amended 2015 Plan provides for the grant of stock-based awards, including nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), stock appreciation rights and other equity securities to employees, consultants and non-employee directors of the Company and its affiliated entities. The number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the Amended 2015 Plan is reduced by (i) one share for each share of common stock issued pursuant to an appreciation award, such as a stock option or stock appreciation right with an exercise or strike price of at least 100% of the fair market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant, and (ii) 1.8 shares for each share of common stock issued pursuant to any stock award that is not an appreciation award, also known as a “full value award.” The Amended 2015 Plan allows the Company to utilize a broad array of equity incentives and performance cash incentives in order to secure and retain the services of its employees, directors and consultants, and to provide long-term incentives that align the interests of its employees, directors and consultants with the interests of the Company’s stockholders. The Company accounts for stock-based compensation at fair value.

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Stock Option Awards

The fair value of stock options is determined at the grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The stock option awards granted to employees generally (i) have a term of ten years, (ii) vest over four years with 25% vesting after the first year of service and the remainder vesting ratably on a quarterly basis thereafter, (iii) are contingent upon employment on the vesting date, and (iv) have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the underlying shares at the date of grant.

The Company historically granted stock options to newly hired and promoted employees, but now almost exclusively utilizes RSUs. The Company did not grant any stock options during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

Restricted Stock Units

The RSUs granted to employees for service generally vest over four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the remainder vesting ratably on a quarterly basis thereafter, subject to continued employment. The RSUs granted to non-employee directors generally vest in full on the first anniversary of the grant date. Some RSUs granted to employees for performance vest upon the completion of defined performance goals, subject to continued employment. The Company’s RSUs are generally classified as equity awards because the RSUs will be paid in the Company’s common stock upon vesting. The related compensation expense is recognized over the service period and is based on the grant date fair value of the Company’s common stock and the number of shares expected to vest. The fair value of the awards is not remeasured at the end of each reporting period. The awards do not carry voting rights until they are vested and released in accordance with the terms of the award.

Service-Based RSUs

The majority of the annual compensation the Company provides to members of its board of directors is paid in the form of RSUs. In addition, certain members of the Company’s board of directors elect to receive the remainder of their annual compensation, or a portion thereof, in the form of RSUs. An aggregate amount of approximately 35,000 and 58,000 service-based RSUs were granted to the Company’s directors as a result of these payments and elections during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, with an estimated grant date fair value of $1.4 million for each period.

During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company granted approximately 437,000 and 632,000 service-based RSUs, respectively, to its employees, with an estimated aggregate grant date fair value of $18.3 million and $17.1 million, respectively.

The Company periodically grants RSUs to non-employee consultants that are generally subject to service-based vesting. The RSUs granted will vest 50% on the first anniversary of the grant date, and the remaining 50% will vest quarterly thereafter through the second anniversary of the grant date. No grants were made to non-employee consultants during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

Performance-Based RSUs

In March 2021 and 2020, the Company granted approximately 228,000 and 115,000 annual incentive, performance-based RSUs, respectively, to the Company’s executives and employees (the “Bonus RSUs”), with an estimated grant date fair value of $9.5 million and $3.1 million, respectively. Vesting of the Bonus RSUs is and was dependent upon the Company’s achievement of defined performance goals over the respective fiscal year. The Company records stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based RSUs when it is considered probable that the performance conditions will be met. Management believes it is probable that substantially all of the 2021 Bonus RSUs will vest. The level of achievement, if any, of performance goals will be determined by the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors and, if such goals are achieved, the 2021 Bonus RSUs will vest, subject to continued employment, in March 2022. Substantially all of the 2020 Bonus RSUs vested in March 2021 upon the determination of the level of achievement of the performance goals.

Additionally, in March 2021 and 2020, the Company granted approximately 110,000 and 144,000 long-term, performance-based RSUs, respectively, to the Company’s executives (the “Executive RSUs”). The estimated aggregate grant date fair value of the Executive RSUs was $4.6 million for the 2021 grants and $3.9 million for the 2020 grants. Vesting of the Executive RSUs is and was dependent upon the Company’s achievement of defined performance goals over a two-year period. The vesting of Executive RSUs will ultimately range from 0% to 150% of the number of shares underlying the Executive RSUs granted based on the level of achievement of the performance goals. If the Company achieves the performance goals, 50% of the number of Executive RSUs earned based on performance will vest on the second anniversary of the grant date, and the remaining 50% will vest on the third anniversary of the grant date, in each case, subject to the executive’s continued service as of the vesting date. During March 2021, the Company awarded approximately 3,000 additional shares related to performance-
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based RSUs to the Company’s executives for over-achievement of performance targets related to the Executive RSUs granted in 2019.

8. Equity Transactions

Preferred Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 2.0 million shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. The Company previously issued 1.5 million shares of preferred stock, and the remaining 0.5 million authorized shares of preferred stock remain undesignated and unissued as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there were no outstanding shares of preferred stock, as all preferred stock was converted in prior periods into common stock according to its terms.

Share Repurchases and Retirement

In February 2021, the Company announced that its Board of Directors had authorized the repurchase of up to $300.0 million of its common stock through December 31, 2022. This time frame can be extended or shortened by the Board of Directors. Repurchases, if any, will be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing prices or in negotiated transactions off the market. All shares are to be immediately retired upon repurchase in accordance with the board-approved policy. When treasury shares are retired, the Company’s policy is to allocate the excess of the repurchase price over the par value of shares acquired first, to additional paid-in capital, and then to retained earnings. The portion to be allocated to additional paid-in capital is calculated by applying a percentage, determined by dividing the number of shares to be retired by the number of shares outstanding, to the balance of additional paid-in capital as of the date of retirement.

During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company repurchased and subsequently retired 1,577,951 shares of its common stock for a total purchase price of approximately $59.2 million. In addition, in March 2021, the Company purchased 2,600 shares for approximately $0.1 million which were not settled and retired until April 2021. As such, these shares are recorded as treasury stock as of March 31, 2021. No shares were repurchased during the year ended December 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021, $240.7 million remained available and authorized for repurchase under this program.

9. Revenue

The following table summarizes the Company’s services revenue:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2021 2020
  (in thousands)
Commercial services revenue:
Voice and data $ 41,424  $ 42,240 
IoT data 24,754  23,766 
Broadband 9,434  8,700 
Hosted payload and other data 14,790  16,269 
Total commercial services revenue 90,402  90,975 
Government services revenue 25,750  25,000 
Total services revenue $ 116,152  $ 115,975 

The following table summarizes the Company’s engineering and support services revenue:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2021 2020
  (in thousands)
Commercial $ 746  $ 997 
Government 5,684  6,052 
Total engineering and support services revenue $ 6,430  $ 7,049 

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Approximately 30% and 35% of the Company's accounts receivable balance at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was due from prime contracts or subcontracts with agencies of the U.S. government.

The Company's contracts with customers generally do not contain performance obligations with terms in excess of one year. As such, the Company does not disclose details related to the value of performance obligations that are unsatisfied as of the end of the reporting period. The total value of any performance obligations that extend beyond a year are immaterial to the financial statements. The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections results in billed accounts receivable, unbilled receivables (contract assets), and deferred revenue (contract liabilities) on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The Company bills amounts under its agreed-upon contractual terms at periodic intervals (for services), upon shipment (for equipment), or upon achievement of contractual milestones or as work progresses (for engineering and support services). Billing may occur subsequent to revenue recognition, resulting in unbilled accounts receivable (contract assets). The Company may also receive payments from customers before revenue is recognized, resulting in deferred revenue (contract liabilities). The Company recognized revenue that was previously recorded as deferred revenue in the amounts of $11.6 million and $12.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company has also recorded costs of obtaining contracts expected to be recovered in prepaid expenses and other current assets (contract assets or commissions), that are not separately disclosed on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The commissions are recognized over the estimated prepaid usage period. The contract assets not separately disclosed are as follows:
March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
(in thousands)
Contract Assets:
Commissions $ 905  $ 993 
Other contract costs $ 2,784  $ 2,860 

10. Income Tax Benefit

Loss before income taxes was $13.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, while the income tax benefit was $8.6 million. The effective tax rate was 63.81% which differed from the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the net impact of the Company's U.S. tax credits, benefits from U.S. state tax losses and a discrete tax benefit associated with the stock compensation tax deduction. These favorable impacts were partially offset by the impact of the limitation on the tax deduction for executive compensation and a discrete tax expense associated with an increase to the prior year valuation allowance for state net operating losses.

Loss before income taxes was $44.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, while the income tax benefit was $12.7 million. The effective tax rate was 28.53% which differed from the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to benefits from U.S. state tax losses and a discrete tax benefit associated with the stock compensation tax deduction. These favorable impacts were partially offset by the impact of the limitation on the tax deduction for executive compensation and additional U.S. tax on international operations.
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11. Net Loss Per Share

The Company calculates basic net loss per share by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. In periods of net income, diluted net income per share takes into account the effect of potential dilutive common shares when the effect is dilutive. Potentially dilutive common shares include (i) common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, and (ii) contingently issuable RSUs that are convertible into shares of common stock upon achievement of certain service and performance requirements. The effect of potentially dilutive common shares is computed using the treasury stock method.

The computations of basic and diluted net loss per share for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2021 2020
  (in thousands, except per share 
data)
Numerator:
Net loss - basic and diluted
$ (5,183) $ (31,702)
Denominator:    
Weighted average common shares - basic and diluted
135,068  132,645 
Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.04) $ (0.24)

Due to the Company’s net loss position for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, all potential common stock equivalents were anti-dilutive and therefore excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share. The incremental number of shares underlying stock options and RSUs outstanding with anti-dilutive effects, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, were as follows:
  Three Months Ended March 31,
  2021 2020
  (in thousands)
Anti-dilutive performance-based RSUs 260  187 
Anti-dilutive service-based RSUs —  210 
Anti-dilutive stock options —  149 

12. Related Party Transactions

Aireon LLC and Aireon Holdings LLC

The Company's satellite constellation hosts the Aireon® system, which provides a global air traffic surveillance service through a series of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (“ADS-B”) receivers. The Company formed Aireon in 2011, with subsequent investments from the air navigation service providers (“ANSPs”) of Canada, Italy, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, to develop and market this service. Aireon has contracted to pay the Company a fee to host the ADS-B receivers on its constellation, as well as fees for power and data services in connection with the delivery of the air traffic surveillance data. Pursuant to agreements with Aireon, Aireon will pay the Company fees of $200.0 million to host the ADS-B receivers, of which $54.5 million had been paid as of March 31, 2021. Aireon also pays power fees of up to approximately $3.7 million per year (the “Hosting Agreement”), as well as data services fees of approximately $19.8 million per year for the delivery of the air traffic surveillance data (the “Data Services Agreement”). The Aireon ADS-B receivers were activated on an individual basis as the satellite on which the receiver is hosted began carrying traffic. Pursuant to ASU 2016-02, the Company considers the Hosting Agreement an operating lease. The Company recognized $4.0 million of hosting fee revenue for each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2021 and 2020. The Company recorded power and data service revenue from Aireon of $5.9 million and $6.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Under two services agreements, the Company also provides Aireon with administrative services and support services, the fees for which are paid monthly. Aireon receivables due to the Company under all agreements totaled $2.3 million at each of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.

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In December 2018, in connection with Aireon's entry into a debt facility, the Company and the other Aireon investors contributed their respective interests in Aireon into a new holding company, Aireon Holdings LLC, and entered into an Amended and Restated Aireon Holdings LLC Agreement. Aireon Holdings LLC holds 100% of the membership interests in Aireon LLC, which remains the operating entity. At each of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company's fully diluted ownership stake in Aireon Holdings LLC was approximately 35.7%, subject to certain redemption provisions contained in the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement. In addition, pursuant to a debt facility for Aireon LLC provided by the Company and the other Aireon investors, the Company will participate pro-rata, based on its fully diluted ownership stake, in an investor bridge loan. As such, in December 2020, the Company invested $0.2 million in the Aireon LLC debt facility. The Company expects future funding by it and the other Aireon investors to be required in 2021 and 2022. The Company’s maximum commitment under the investor bridge loan is $10.7 million.



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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

You should read the following discussion along with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed on February 11, 2021 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, as well as our condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-Q.

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include those that express plans, anticipation, intent, contingencies, goals, targets or future development or otherwise are not statements of historical fact. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events, and they are subject to risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential impact on our business and the global economy. The important factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” in this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed on February 11, 2021 could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Overview of Our Business
We are engaged primarily in providing mobile voice and data communications services using a constellation of orbiting satellites. We are the only commercial provider of communications services offering true global coverage, connecting people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Our unique L-band satellite network provides reliable communications services to regions of the world where terrestrial wireless or wireline networks do not exist or are limited, including remote land areas, open ocean, airways, the polar regions and regions where the telecommunications infrastructure has been affected by political conflicts or natural disasters.
We provide voice and data communications services to businesses, the U.S. and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers via our upgraded satellite network, which has an architecture of 66 operational satellites with in-orbit and ground spares and related ground infrastructure. We utilize an interlinked mesh architecture to route traffic across the satellite constellation using radio frequency crosslinks between satellites. This unique architecture minimizes the need for ground facilities to support the constellation, which facilitates the global reach of our services and allows us to offer services in countries and regions where we have no physical presence. Our upgraded satellite constellation is compatible with all of our end-user equipment and supports more bandwidth and higher data speeds for our new products, including our recently introduced Iridium Certus broadband service.
We sell our products and services to commercial end-users through a wholesale distribution network, encompassing approximately 125 service providers, approximately 285 value-added resellers, or VARs, and approximately 85 value-added manufacturers, or VAMs, who either sell directly to the end user or indirectly through other service providers, VARs or dealers. These distributors often integrate our products and services with other complementary hardware and software and have developed a broad suite of applications for our products and services targeting specific lines of business.
At March 31, 2021, we had approximately 1,518,000 billable subscribers worldwide, representing an increase of 14% from approximately 1,332,000 billable subscribers at March 31, 2020. We have a diverse customer base, with end users in the following lines of business: land mobile, maritime, aviation, Internet of Things, or IoT, hosted payloads and other data services and the U.S. government.
We recognize revenue from both the provision of services and the sale of equipment. Over the past several years, service revenue, including revenue from hosting and data services, has represented an increasing proportion of our revenue, and we expect that trend to continue.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Our Business
The COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken in response are currently affecting countries, communities and markets around the world. Like many other businesses, we started to see a slowdown in the final weeks of March 2020 as a result of this widespread economic shutdown. Our distributors have also experienced business and operational restrictions, which continue to limit their ability to visit customers, complete new installations, and close on new business opportunities. This slowdown extended throughout 2020 and during the first quarter of 2021, though we have seen significant recovery in some markets, most notably IoT. Other markets, including aviation and maritime, continue to suffer significant effects from reduced activity during the pandemic. Aviation, in particular, may take years to recover to pre-pandemic levels. In other industries, such as maritime, the effects are significant, but vary greatly by region and business model, and we expect that additional shutdowns will continue
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to impact our results of operations. The ultimate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are difficult to assess or predict with certainty at this time but may include additional risks. For further information on the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations, see “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2021.

Material Trends and Uncertainties
Our industry and customer base has historically grown as a result of:
demand for remote and reliable mobile communications services;
a growing number of new products and services and related applications;
a broad wholesale distribution network with access to diverse and geographically dispersed niche markets;
increased demand for communications services by disaster and relief agencies, and emergency first responders;
improved data transmission speeds for mobile satellite service offerings;
regulatory mandates requiring the use of mobile satellite services;
a general reduction in prices of mobile satellite services and subscriber equipment; and
geographic market expansion through the ability to offer our services in additional countries.
Nonetheless, we face a number of challenges and uncertainties in operating our business, including:
our ability to maintain the health, capacity, control and level of service of our satellites;
our ability to develop and launch new and innovative products and services;
changes in general economic, business and industry conditions, including the effects of currency exchange rates;
our reliance on a single primary commercial gateway and a primary satellite network operations center;
competition from other mobile satellite service providers and, to a lesser extent, from the expansion of terrestrial-based cellular phone systems and related pricing pressures;
market acceptance of our products;
regulatory requirements in existing and new geographic markets;
rapid and significant technological changes in the telecommunications industry;
our ability to generate sufficient internal cash flows to repay our debt;
reliance on our wholesale distribution network to market and sell our products, services and applications effectively;
reliance on single-source suppliers for the manufacture of most of our subscriber equipment and for some of the components required in the manufacture of our end-user subscriber equipment and our ability to purchase parts that are periodically subject to shortages resulting from surges in demand, natural disasters or other events; and
reliance on a few significant customers, particularly agencies of the U.S. government, for a substantial portion of our revenue, as a result of which the loss or decline in business with any of these customers may negatively impact our revenue and collectability of related accounts receivable.

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Comparison of Our Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020
Three Months Ended March 31, Change
2021 % of Total Revenue 2020 % of Total Revenue
($ in thousands) Dollars Percent
Revenue:
Services $ 116,152  80  % $ 115,975  80  % $ 177  —  %
Subscriber equipment 23,953  16  % 22,263  15  % 1,690  %
Engineering and support services 6,430  % 7,049  % (619) (9) %
Total revenue 146,535  100  % 145,287  100  % 1,248  %
Operating expenses:
Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation
and amortization) 23,207  16  % 21,978  15  % 1,229  %
Cost of subscriber equipment 13,028  % 12,274  % 754  %
Research and development 2,717  % 2,444  % 273  11  %
Selling, general and administrative 22,657  15  % 20,825  14  % 1,832  %
Depreciation and amortization 75,910  52  % 75,944  52  % (34) —  %
Total operating expenses 137,519  94  % 133,465  92  % 4,054  %
Operating income 9,016  % 11,822  % (2,806) (24) %
Other expense:
Interest expense, net (22,769) (16) % (26,444) (18) % 3,675  (14) %
Loss on extinguishment of debt —  —  % (30,209) (21) % 30,209  (100) %
Other income (expense), net (28) —  % 447  —  % (475) (106) %
Total other expense, net (22,797) (16) % (56,206) (39) % 33,409  (59) %
Loss before income taxes (13,781) (10) % (44,384) (31) % 30,603  (69) %
Income tax benefit 8,598  % 12,682  % (4,084) (32) %
Net loss $ (5,183) (4) % $ (31,702) (22) % $ 26,519  (84) %

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Revenue
Commercial Service Revenue 
Three Months Ended March 31,
2021 2020 Change
Revenue
Billable
Subscribers (1)
ARPU (2)
Revenue
Billable
Subscribers (1)
ARPU (2)
Revenue Billable
Subscribers
ARPU
(Revenue in millions and subscribers in thousands)
Commercial services:
Voice and data $ 41.4  350  $ 39  $ 42.2  351  $ 40  $ (0.8) (1) $ (1)
IoT data 24.8  1,003  $ 8.39  23.8  830  $ 9.71  1.0  173  (1.32)
Broadband (3)
9.4  12.0  $ 265  8.7  10.9  $ 267  0.7  1.1  (2)
Hosted payload and other data 14.8  N/A 16.3  N/A (1.5) N/A
Total commercial services $ 90.4  1,365  $ 91.0  1,192 $ (0.6) 173 
(1)Billable subscriber numbers shown are at the end of the respective period.
(2)Average monthly revenue per unit, or ARPU, is calculated by dividing revenue in the respective period by the average of the number of billable subscribers at the beginning of the period and the number of billable subscribers at the end of the period and then dividing the result by the number of months in the period. Billable subscriber and ARPU data is not applicable for hosted payload and other data service revenue items.
(3)Commercial broadband service consists of Iridium OpenPort® and Iridium Certus® broadband services.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, total commercial services revenue decreased $0.6 million, or 1%, from the prior year period primarily as a result of decreases in hosted payload and voice and data revenue. These decreases were partially offset by increases in IoT data revenue and broadband revenue. Hosted payload and other service revenue decreased $1.5 million, or 9%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021, due primarily to a data billing settlement that resulted in recognition of $1.3 million in the prior year quarter. Voice and data revenue decreased $0.8 million, or 2%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021. This decrease resulted from a decrease in usage and access fees as we continue to recover from the mobility restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. These decreases were offset by an increase in commercial IoT data revenue of $1.0 million, or 4%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021, due to a 21% increase in commercial IoT data billable subscribers, primarily from continued strength in consumer personal communications devices. The increase in IoT related to subscriber growth was offset in part by a decrease in ARPU, driven by lower usage associated with the COVID-19 pandemic primarily in aviation. Commercial services revenue also increased due to an increase in commercial broadband revenue of $0.7 million, or 8%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021, due primarily to an increase in broadband billable subscribers.
Government Service Revenue 
  Three Months Ended March 31,    
  2021 2020 Change
Revenue
Billable
Subscribers (1)
Revenue
Billable
Subscribers (1)
Revenue Billable
Subscribers
(Revenue in millions and subscribers in thousands)
Government services $ 25.8  153 $ 25.0  140 $ 0.8  13 
(1)Billable subscriber numbers shown are at the end of the respective period.

We provide airtime and airtime support to U.S. government and other authorized customers pursuant to our Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services contract, or the EMSS Contract. Under the terms of this agreement, which we entered into in September 2019, authorized customers utilize specified Iridium airtime services provided through the U.S. government’s dedicated gateway. The fee is not based on subscribers or usage, allowing an unlimited number of users access to these services. The annual rate under the EMSS Contract increased from $100.0 million to $103.0 million during the third quarter of 2020.

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Subscriber Equipment Revenue
Subscriber equipment revenue increased by $1.7 million, or 8%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to an increase in the volume of IoT, partially offset by a decrease in the volume of handset and L-band transceiver device sales.
Engineering and Support Service Revenue
  Three Months Ended March 31,  
  2021 2020 Change
  (Revenue in millions)
Commercial engineering and support services $ 0.7  $ 1.0  $ (0.3)
Government engineering and support services 5.7  6.0  (0.3)
Total engineering and support services $ 6.4  $ 7.0  $ (0.6)
Engineering and support service revenue decreased $0.6 million, or 9%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the prior year period primarily due to the episodic nature of contract work for certain commercial and government projects.
Operating Expenses
Cost of Services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)
Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) includes the cost of network engineering and operations staff, including contractors, software maintenance, product support services and cost of services for government and commercial engineering and support service revenue.
Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) increased by $1.2 million, or 6%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 from the prior year period, primarily as a result of higher maintenance and product support costs, as well as higher costs to support the EMSS Contract.
Cost of Subscriber Equipment
Cost of subscriber equipment includes the direct costs of equipment sold, which consist of manufacturing costs, allocation of overhead, and warranty costs.
Cost of subscriber equipment increased by $0.8 million, or 6%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the prior year period primarily due to the increase in IoT device sales, partially offset by the decrease in the volume of handset and L-band transceiver sales.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses increased by $0.3 million, or 11%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the prior year period due to increased spending on devices and related features for our network.
Selling, General and Administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses that are not directly attributable to the sale of services or products include sales and marketing costs as well as employee-related expenses (such as salaries, wages, and benefits), legal, finance, information technology, facilities, billing and customer care expenses.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $1.8 million, or 9%, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to an increase in management incentives in the current year as compared to the prior year which included the estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an increase in stock appreciation rights expense in the current year resulting from changes in our stock valuation between the respective reporting periods.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization expense remained relatively flat as we completed the replacement of our first-generation satellites in February 2019. As the upgraded satellites are the largest proportion of our asset base, we anticipate depreciation and amortization expense to remain relatively consistent from quarter to quarter based on our anticipated capital expenditures.
Other Expense
Interest Expense, Net
Interest expense, net decreased $3.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the prior year period. In 2020, we refinanced a portion of our debt including a decrease in the weighted average effective interest rate and lower average outstanding borrowings under our total debt obligations, resulting in less overall interest expense. Interest expense was further
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reduced when we repriced our outstanding debt in January 2021, decreasing the interest rate spread by 1.0%. Offsetting this decrease in part, to execute the repricing, we paid fees of $3.6 million, which were recorded within interest expense.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt
There was no loss on extinguishment of debt recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to a loss on extinguishment of debt of $30.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The loss on extinguishment of debt resulted from the write off of unamortized debt issuance costs when we closed on an additional $200.0 million under our Term Loan in February 2020 and used the proceeds, together with cash on hand, to prepay all of the indebtedness outstanding under our senior unsecured notes, including premiums for early prepayment.

Income Tax Benefit
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, our income tax benefit was $8.6 million, compared to income tax benefit of $12.7 million for the prior year period. The decrease in income tax benefit is primarily related to a decrease in loss before income taxes compared to the prior year plus an increase to the valuation allowance for state net operating losses. This was offset in part by the stock compensation tax deduction which resulted from an increase in the value of both stock options exercised and vested restricted stock units.
Net Loss
Net loss was $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to a net loss of $31.7 million for the prior year period. The change primarily resulted from the $30.2 million decrease in loss on extinguishment of debt and the $3.7 million decrease in interest expense, net. These decreases were partially offset by the $4.1 million decrease in the income tax benefit and the $4.1 million increase in operating expenses, as described above.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

In November 2019, we issued our Term Loan totaling $1,450.0 million, with an accompanying $100.0 million Revolving Facility. In February 2020, we issued an additional $200.0 million under our Term Loan and used the proceeds and approximately $183.5 million of cash on hand to repay in full all of the indebtedness outstanding under our senior unsecured notes, including premiums for early repayment. On January 20, 2021, we repriced all borrowings outstanding under our Term Loan. The Term Loan now bears interest at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 2.75%, with a 1.00% LIBOR floor. All other terms remain the same. To reprice the Term Loan, we incurred additional financing costs of $3.6 million.

As of March 31, 2021, we reported an aggregate balance of $1,633.5 million in borrowings under the Term Loan, before $23.0 million of net deferred financing costs, for a net principal balance of $1,610.5 million outstanding in our condensed consolidated balance sheet. We have not drawn on our Revolving Facility.

Our Term Loan contains no financial maintenance covenants. With respect to the Revolving Facility, we are required to maintain a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio of no greater than 6.25 to 1 if more than 35% of the Revolving Facility has been drawn. The Credit Agreement contains other customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default.

The Credit Agreement contains a mandatory prepayment mechanism with respect to a portion of our excess cash flow (as defined in the Credit Agreement). It provides for specified exceptions, baskets measured as a percentage of trailing twelve months of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and unlimited exceptions in the case of incurring indebtedness and liens and making investments, dividend payments, and payments of subordinated indebtedness, as well as a phase-out of the mandatory excess cash flow prepayments, based on achievement and maintenance of specified leverage ratios. The Credit Agreement permits repayment, prepayment, and repricing transactions. Our mandatory excess cash flow prepayment, as specified in the Credit Agreement, was $12.7 million as of December 31, 2020. This amount will be paid in the second quarter of 2021 and counts towards our required quarterly principal payments under the Term Loan. We were in compliance with all other covenants under the Credit Agreement as of March 31, 2021.

As of March 31, 2021, our total cash and cash equivalents balance was $214.8 million, our marketable securities balance was $7.5 million, and we had $100.0 million of borrowing availability under our Revolving Facility. In addition to the Revolving Facility, our principal sources of liquidity are cash, cash equivalents and internally generated cash flows. Our principal liquidity requirements over the next twelve months are primarily principal and interest on the Term Loan and share repurchases under the share repurchase program described in Note 8.

We believe our liquidity sources will provide sufficient funds for us to meet our liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months.

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Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows:
  Three Months Ended March 31,  
  2021 2020 Change
  (in thousands)
Cash provided by operating activities $ 50,766  $ 40,813  $ 9,953 
Cash used in investing activities $ (9,417) $ (9,487) $ 70 
Cash used in financing activities $ (63,264) $ (186,025) $ 122,761 

Cash Flows Provided by Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021 increased by $10.0 million from the prior year period. Net loss, as adjusted for non-cash activities, improved by $5.4 million over the prior year, primarily due to the $26.5 million improvement in net loss as the prior year included the $30.2 million loss on extinguishment of debt and $8.3 million increase in deferred income taxes. Net cash from operating activities also increased related to working capital changes of approximately $4.6 million. This increase was primarily the result of accrued expenses and other current liabilities due to an decrease in management incentives paid in the first quarter of 2021 and timing of accounts payable obligations. These were offset in part by a decrease in the interest payable compared to the prior year. Interest on the Term Loan is paid monthly compared to previous semi-annual interest payments associated with the senior unsecured notes that were repaid in February 2020. As a result, there was minimal interest payable in the 2021 working capital balance for the Term Loan.

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021 remained relatively flat compared to the prior year period. We estimate our capital expenditures will average approximately $40.0 million per year until 2029.
Cash Flows Used in Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021 decreased by $122.8 million compared to the prior year period primarily due to lower net principal payments as we utilized our cash to pay down additional debt in the prior year. The combination of principal prepayment on the senior unsecured notes and additional borrowings under the Term Loan resulted in net payments of $181.5 million for 2020 compared to $4.1 million for 2021. This decrease was partially offset by $59.3 million used in 2021 for the repurchase of our common stock. See Note 5 to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report for further discussion of our indebtedness and Note 8 for further information on our stock repurchase program.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not currently have, nor have we had in the last three years, any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.

Seasonality

Our results of operations have been subject to seasonal usage changes for commercial customers, and our results will be affected by similar seasonality going forward. March through October are typically the peak months for commercial voice services revenue and related subscriber equipment sales. U.S. government revenue and commercial IoT revenue have been less subject to seasonal usage changes.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires the use of estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, useful lives of property and equipment, long-lived assets and other intangible assets, deferred financing costs, income taxes, stock-based compensation, and other estimates. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
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There have been no changes to our critical accounting policies from those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on February 11, 2021.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements and recently adopted pronouncements.
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ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

We have an outstanding aggregate balance of $1,633.5 million under the Term Loan as of March 31, 2021. We have executed a long-term interest rate swap, or the Swap, for $1,000.0 million of the Term Loan, through November 2021. We also entered into an interest rate swaption, or the Swaption, that if executed on November 22, 2021, would extend our Swap through November 2026. For the portion of the Term Loan not covered under the Swap, we pay interest at an annual rate equal to the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, plus 2.75%, with a 1.0% LIBOR floor, which will, accordingly, subject us to interest rate fluctuations in future periods. A one-half percentage point increase or decrease in the LIBOR would not have had a material impact on our interest cost for the period.

We have no borrowings under our Revolving Facility as of March 31, 2021. Accordingly, although the Revolving Facility bears interest at LIBOR plus 3.75% rate, without a LIBOR floor, if and as drawn, we were not exposed to fluctuations in interest rates with respect to our Revolving Facility.

Financial instruments that potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, as well as accounts receivable. We maintain our cash and cash equivalents with financial institutions with high credit ratings and at times maintain the balance of our deposits in excess of federally insured limits. The majority of our cash is swept nightly into a money market fund invested in U.S. treasuries, Agency Mortgage Backed Securities and/or U.S. government guaranteed debt. Accounts receivable are due from both domestic and international customers. We perform credit evaluations of our customers’ financial condition and record reserves to provide for estimated credit losses. Accounts payable are owed to both domestic and international vendors.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer, who is our principal executive officer, and our chief financial officer, who is our principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as of the end of the period covered by this report. In evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs. In addition, the design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Based on this evaluation, our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
During the quarter ended March 31, 2021, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II.
OTHER INFORMATION 
ITEM 1.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

None.

ITEM 1A.     RISK FACTORS.

Our business is subject to risks and events that, if they occur, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and the trading price of our securities. In addition to the other information set forth in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors described in “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2021.

There have been no material changes from the risk factors described in the annual report.

ITEM 2.     UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Period (a)
Total number of shares purchased
(b)
Average price paid per share
(c)
Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs
(d)
Maximum dollar value) of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs
January 1-31 —  —  —  — 
February 1-28 207,688  $38.57  207,688  $292.0 million
March 1-31 1,372,863  $37.37  1,372,863  $240.7 million
Total 1,580,551  $37.53  1,580,551  — 

On February 10, 2021, we announced that our board of directors had approved the repurchase of up to $300.0 million of our common stock through December 31, 2022. All shares listed above were purchased under this share repurchase program in open market transactions.

ITEM 3.     DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES.

None. 

ITEM 4.     MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5.     OTHER INFORMATION.

None.
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ITEM 6.     EXHIBITS.

The following list of exhibits includes exhibits submitted with this Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Exhibit   Description
10.1†
10.2*
31.1  
31.2  
32.1**  
101   The following financial information from the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 20, 2021, formatted in iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language):
(i)   Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020;
(ii)  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020;
(iii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020;
(iv) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020; and
(iv) Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
 
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
Exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K and will be furnished on a supplemental basis to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.
* Denotes management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
** These certifications are being furnished solely to accompany this quarterly report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, and are not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the registrant, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.
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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
  IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC.
     
  By: /s/ Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
    Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
    Chief Financial Officer
(as duly authorized officer and as principal financial officer of the registrant)
 Date: April 20, 2021
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Exhibit 10.2
IRIDIUM COMMUNICATIONS INC.
2021 PERFORMANCE BONUS PLAN
1.Purpose. As part of its employee compensation program, Iridium Communications Inc. (the “Company”) has designed this 2021 Performance Bonus Plan (the “Bonus Plan”) for the 2021 calendar year. The Bonus Plan provides Participants with incentive awards, paid in restricted stock units granted pursuant to the Iridium Communications Inc. Amended and Restated 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (the “A&R 2015 Plan”) and cash, based on the achievement of corporate and individual performance goals.
2.Definitions. Defined terms not explicitly defined in the Bonus Plan but defined in the A&R 2015 Plan shall have the same definitions as in the A&R 2015 Plan.
(a)Actual Bonus Award” means, with respect to each Participant, the award determined pursuant to Section 5(g).
(b)Affiliate” means any parent or subsidiary of the Company.
(c)Base Compensation” means (i) for exempt, salaried employees, a Participant’s base salary actually earned by such Participant during the Performance Period, even if payment is not made during the Performance Period (including, but not limited to, a normal payroll paid in arrears), excluding shift and weekend differentials, incentive compensation, reimbursement of expenses, severance or all other payments not deemed part of such Participant’s base salary; (ii) for non-exempt employees, a Participant’s regular hourly earnings actually earned by such Participant during the Performance Period, even if payment is not made during the Performance Period (including, but not limited to, a normal payroll paid in arrears), excluding shift and weekend differentials, overtime, incentive compensation, reimbursement of expenses, severance or all other payments not deemed part of such Participant’s regular earnings, provided, that the number of hours used to determine such Participant’s regular hourly earnings shall not exceed 2080 hours during the Performance Period; and (iii) for consultants, a Participant’s consulting fees actually earned by such Participant during the Performance Period, even if payment is not made during the Performance Period, excluding incentive compensation, reimbursement of expenses, or other similar payments or fees not deemed part of such Participant’s consulting fees. Such Base Compensation shall be before both (i) deductions for taxes or benefits, and (ii) deferrals of compensation pursuant to Company-sponsored plans.
(d)Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(e)Bonus Pool” means, with respect to the Performance Period, the bonus pool established under the Bonus Plan for the payment of Actual Bonus Awards to Participants that are not Officer Participants.
(f)Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(g)Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board or a subcommittee thereof.
(h)Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.





(i)Corporate Achievement Determination Date” means the date or dates upon which the Committee determines the Company’s level of achievement of the Corporate Performance Goals for the Performance Period and calculates the Bonus Pool for the Performance Period.
(j)Corporate Achievement Factor” means, with respect to the Performance Period, the percentage determined by the Committee based on the Company’s achievement of the Corporate Performance Goals during the Performance Period.
(k)Corporate Performance Goals” means the corporate goal(s) (or combined goal(s)) determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion. The goals may relate to the Company, one or more of its Affiliates or one or more of its or their divisions or units, or any combination of the foregoing, and may be applied on an absolute basis and/or be relative to one or more peer group companies or indices, or any combination thereof, all as the Committee will determine.
(l)Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date” means the date or dates upon which the Committee sets the Corporate Performance Goals with respect to the Performance Period.
(m)Designated Officer” means one or more officers of the Company who are designated by the Committee to administer the Bonus Plan with respect to Participants who are not Officer Participants in accordance with Section 3(c).
(n)Maximum Bonus Award” means, as to any Participant for the Performance Period, the maximum award that may be earned by the Participant under the Bonus Plan.
(o)Officer Participant” means a Participant that is an officer of the Company who is regularly employed (full or part time) during the Performance Period at the level of Executive Vice President or above and who is subject to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(p)Participant” means an employee or consultant of the Company or an Affiliate who is eligible to participate in the Bonus Plan pursuant to Section 4.
(q)Payout Determination Date” means the date or dates following the end of the Performance Period on which the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, determines (i) the Actual Bonus Awards payable to the Participants, as applicable, with respect to the completed Performance Period, in accordance with Section 5(g) and (ii) the vesting amount of any Restricted Stock Units granted to the Participants, as applicable, with respect to such Actual Bonus Awards.
(r)Performance Period” means the 2021 calendar year.
(s)Personal Performance Factor” means, with respect to the Performance Period, the percentage determined by the Committee or Designated Officer, as applicable, based on the Participant’s personal performance during the Performance Period.





(t)Restricted Stock Unit” means a right to receive one share of Common Stock granted as a Restricted Stock Unit Award (as defined in the A&R 2015 Plan) pursuant to the terms and conditions of the A&R 2015 Plan.
(u)Target Bonus Award” means the target bonus award potentially payable to a Participant in accordance with the target bonus percentage set forth in the Participant’s offer letter or other written agreement between the Participant and the Company, as such offer letter or agreement may be amended from time to time, or as otherwise determined or approved with respect to a Participant by the Committee or Designated Officer, as applicable. A Participant’s Target Bonus Award equals the product of such target bonus percentage and the Participant’s Base Compensation.
(v)Vesting Date” means the Payout Determination Date or such later date, as determined by the Committee or Designated Officer, as applicable, but in each case not later than March 15, 2022.
3.Plan Administration.
(a)The Committee shall have the authority to adopt Corporate Performance Goals and to determine the Corporate Achievement Factor for the Performance Period with respect to all Participants.
(b)The Committee shall be responsible for the general administration and interpretation of the Bonus Plan and for carrying out its provisions. The Committee may delegate some or all of the administration of the Bonus Plan to officers or other employees of the Company, as necessary or desirable for proper administration of the Bonus Plan. The Committee shall have such powers as may be necessary to discharge its duties under the Bonus Plan, including, but not by way of limitation, the following:
(i)to determine eligibility and the amount, form, manner and time of payment of any Actual Bonus Awards under the Bonus Plan, including authority to determine a Participant’s Personal Performance Factor, provided that any Restricted Stock Units granted under the A&R 2015 Plan in accordance with the Bonus Plan shall be approved and administered in accordance with the terms of the A&R 2015 Plan;
(ii)to construe and interpret the terms of the Bonus Plan;
(iii)to prescribe forms and procedures for purposes of Bonus Plan participation and distribution of Actual Bonus Awards; and
(iv)to adopt rules and to take such actions as it deems necessary or desirable for the proper administration of the Bonus Plan.
(c)Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to Section 3(a), the Designated Officer is delegated concurrent authority for the general administration and interpretation of the Bonus Plan and for carrying out its provisions with respect to each Participant that is not an Officer Participant, and the Designated Officer will have concurrent authority to take all actions set forth in Section 3(b) with respect to the administration of the Bonus Plan related to Participants that are not Officer Participants. The Committee may, at any time, abolish the powers and authority delegated to the Designated Officer. The Committee retains the authority to concurrently





administer the Bonus Plan with respect to all Participants and retains the sole authority to administer the Bonus Plan with respect to Officer Participants.
(d)Any rule or decision by the Committee, or with respect to Participants that are not Officer Participants, the Designated Officer, that is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Bonus Plan shall be conclusive and binding on all persons and shall be given the maximum deference permitted by law.
4.Eligibility. Employees of the Company or an Affiliate who are regularly employed (full or part time) during the Performance Period and certain consultants of the Company or an Affiliate designated by the Committee or Designated Officer, as applicable from time to time, in each case who are eligible for awards under the A&R 2015 Plan, are eligible to participate in the Bonus Plan. Participation in the Bonus Plan is at the discretion of the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable. If an employee’s employment or a consultant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate commences after the beginning of the Performance Period, the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, shall have the discretion to determine whether and on what basis (for example, an Actual Bonus Award that is pro-rated based on completed months of service during the Performance Period) such employee or consultant will be eligible to participate in the Bonus Plan. If the Participant’s Target Bonus Award changes during the Performance Period because of a change in the target bonus percentage set forth in the Participant’s offer letter or other written agreement with the Company, the Participant’s Target Bonus Award will be pro-rated based on the number of days during the Performance Period when each of the target bonus percentages was in effect. A Participant must be employed by, or in the service of, the Company or an Affiliate through the payment date to earn any portion of an Actual Bonus Award paid in cash under the Bonus Plan; if the Participant’s employment or service terminates before such payment date, such Participant shall not be eligible to receive such portion of the Actual Bonus Award, in each case except to the extent an applicable severance plan or an individual employment, retention, or other written agreement between the Company and such Participant provides for payment of any portion of an annual performance bonus in connection with a qualifying termination of employment. A Participant must be employed by, or in the service of, the Company or an Affiliate through the Vesting Date to earn any portion of an Actual Bonus Award paid in the form of Restricted Stock Units; if the Participant’s employment or service terminates before the Vesting Date, such Restricted Stock Units granted to the Participant pursuant to this Bonus Plan with respect to the Performance Period shall be forfeited, in each case except to the extent an applicable severance plan or an individual employment, retention, or other written agreement between the Company and such Participant provides for payment of any portion of an annual performance bonus in connection with a qualifying termination of employment resulting in the accelerated vesting of any such Restricted Stock Units. If a Participant is on a leave of absence for a portion of the Performance Period or is not providing service during a portion of the Performance Period, at the discretion of the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, such Participant shall be eligible for an Actual Bonus Award under the Bonus Plan based on the Participant’s Base Compensation actually earned during the Performance Period (exclusive of any insurance benefits paid during the leave by a third-party vendor or federal, state or local insurance program).





5.How the Bonus Plan Works.
(a)Bonus Plan Components. The Bonus Plan components are: (i) the Corporate Performance Goals; (ii) the Corporate Achievement Factor; (iii) the Target Bonus Award; (iv) the Bonus Pool; (v) the Maximum Bonus Award, (vi) the Personal Performance Factor; and (vii) the Actual Bonus Award.
(b)Corporate Performance Goals. On the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date, the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall establish the Corporate Performance Goals for the Performance Period. The Corporate Performance Goals for the Performance Period are set forth in EXHIBIT A of the Bonus Plan.
(c)Corporate Achievement Factor. On the Corporate Achievement Determination Date, the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the Company’s level of achievement of the Corporate Performance Goals and the resulting Corporate Achievement Factor.
(d)Target Bonus Award. On the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date, the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, shall calculate each Participant’s Target Bonus Award. In addition, the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, shall recalculate each Participant’s Target Bonus Award on the Corporate Achievement Determination Date to account for any changes to any Participant’s Target Bonus Award as set forth in Section 4.
(e)Bonus Pool for Participants that are not Officer Participants. On the Corporate Achievement Determination Date, the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, shall calculate the Bonus Pool for the payment of Actual Bonus Awards to Participants that are not Officer Participants, which shall equal, in dollars, the product of (i) the sum of the Target Bonus Awards for all Participants that are not Officer Participants and (ii) the Corporate Achievement Factor. The Company is under no obligation to pay out in Actual Bonus Awards the entire Bonus Pool. The Designated Officer shall allocate the Bonus Pool to Participants that are not Officer Participants based on each Participant’s Personal Performance Factor in accordance with Sections 5(f) and 5(g), but in no event may the sum of the Actual Bonus Awards payable to all Participants who are not Officer Participants under the Bonus Plan exceed the Bonus Pool.
(f)Personal Performance Factor. On the Payout Determination Date, the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, shall determine a Personal Performance Factor for each Participant ranging from 0% to 150%. A Participant’s Personal Performance Factor may be based upon the Committee’s or the Designated Officer’s, as applicable, assessment of the Participant’s performance against personal goals during the Performance Period that are established and reviewed in connection with the Company’s annual review process, or any additional factors the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, considers relevant.
(g)Actual Bonus Awards. On the Payout Determination Date, Actual Bonus Awards for Officer Participants and Participants that are not Officer Participants shall be determined by the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, as follows, provided, however, that notwithstanding any contrary provision of the Bonus Plan, (i) the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, in its sole discretion, may eliminate or reduce the Actual





Bonus Award payable to any Participant below that which otherwise would be payable hereunder in its discretion, including but not limited to elimination or reduction based upon the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor, reducing any Actual Bonus Award to $0 and the forfeiture of Restricted Stock Units granted pursuant to Section 6, and (ii) the Maximum Bonus Award that may be earned by any Participant is 200% of his or her Target Bonus Award.
(i)Officer Participants. On the Payout Determination Date, the Committee shall determine the Actual Bonus Award earned by each Officer Participant by multiplying (i) the Officer Participant’s Target Bonus Award by (ii) the Corporate Achievement Factor and by (iii) the Officer Participant’s Personal Performance Factor, and shall determine the performance vesting of the Restricted Stock Units granted to the Officer Participant pursuant to this Bonus Plan. For example, assuming an Officer Participant’s Target Bonus Award equals $250,000, the Corporate Achievement Factor equals 120% and the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor equals 100%, the Participant’s Actual Bonus Award would be $300,000 ($250,000 x 120% x 100%).
(ii)Other Participants. On the Payout Determination Date, the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, shall determine the Actual Bonus Award earned by each Participant that is not an Officer Participant by multiplying (i) the Participant’s Target Bonus Award by (ii) the Corporate Achievement Factor and by (iii) the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor, and shall determine the performance vesting of the Restricted Stock Units granted to the Participant pursuant to this Bonus Plan; provided, however, in no event shall the sum of the Actual Bonus Awards payable to all Participants that are not Officer Participants exceed the amount of the Bonus Pool. For example, assuming that such a Participant’s Target Bonus Award equals $60,000, the Corporate Achievement Factor equals 120% and the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor equals 100%, the Participant’s Actual Bonus Award would be $72,000 ($60,000 x 120% x 100%).
6.Actual Bonus Award Payment.
(a)Right to Receive Payment. Each Actual Bonus Award under the Bonus Plan shall be paid solely from the general assets of the Company, or as applicable, the issuance of shares of Common Stock pursuant to Restricted Stock Units. Nothing in the Bonus Plan shall be construed to create a trust or to establish or evidence any Participant’s claim of any right to payment of an Actual Bonus Award other than as an unsecured general creditor with respect to any payment to which he or she may be entitled.
(b)Form of Payment of Actual Bonus Awards. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, subject to Section 4, the Company shall distribute all Actual Bonus Awards to the Participants as follows.
(i)Equity Portion of Actual Bonus Award. A portion of a Participant’s Actual Bonus Award equal in value to sixty (60) percent of the Participant’s Target Bonus Award (determined as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date) will be paid in the form of Restricted Stock Units. The Restricted Stock Units shall be granted to each Participant under the A&R 2015 Plan on such date as the Committee shall determine in its sole discretion (in each case, the “Grant Date”), and shall vest on the Vesting Date, subject to the Participant’s Continuous Service (as defined in the A&R 2015 Plan) through the Vesting Date





(except to the extent an applicable severance plan or an individual employment, retention or other written agreement between the Company and the Participant provides for payment of any portion of an annual performance bonus in connection with a qualifying termination of employment resulting in the accelerated vesting of any such Restricted Stock Units) and level of achievement of the Corporate Achievement Factor and Personal Performance Factor as set forth in this Section 6(b). The level of achievement of the Corporate Achievement Factor and the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor shall apply first to the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units and then to the payment of any portion of a Participant’s Bonus Award in cash in accordance with Section 6(b)(ii). The number of shares of Common Stock subject to the Restricted Stock Units granted to each Participant shall be equal to (x) sixty (60) percent of the Participant’s Target Bonus (determined as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date), divided by (y) the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the Grant Date (as determined in accordance with the terms of the A&R 2015 Plan) (the “Grant Date FMV”), rounded down to the nearest whole share. The dollar amount of the portion of sixty (60) percent of any Participant’s Target Bonus Award that exceeds the value of the shares of Common Stock subject to the Restricted Stock Units granted to such Participant as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date due to rounding down to the nearest whole share, if any, may, at the discretion of the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, be paid in cash when the Participant’s Actual Bonus Award is otherwise scheduled to be paid in accordance with the terms of the Bonus Plan, provided that the product of the Corporate Achievement Factor and the Personal Performance Factor for the Participant is equal to or greater than sixty (60) percent. The Restricted Stock Units shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the A&R 2015 Plan and a form of restricted stock unit agreement as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion and shall be settled in accordance with the terms of such restricted stock unit agreement. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Bonus Plan, the number of Restricted Stock Units granted to a Participant pursuant to this Section 6(b)(i) that are eligible to vest on the Vesting Date, if any, shall equal (x) the dollar amount of the Participant’s Actual Bonus Award actually earned by the Participant and determined in accordance with Section 5(g), divided by (y) the Grant Date FMV, rounded down to the nearest number of whole shares, subject to a limit on vesting equal to 100% of the number of Restricted Stock Units granted to the Participant with respect to the Performance Period pursuant to this Bonus Plan. In no event may any Participant vest in, or have any entitlement to, a number of Restricted Stock Units under the terms of this Bonus Plan that exceeds 100% of the number of Restricted Stock Units actually granted to the Participant pursuant to this Bonus Plan. Any Restricted Stock Units that do not vest in accordance with this Section 6(b)(i) shall be forfeited and terminated for no consideration on the Vesting Date, provided that a Participant shall forfeit all of his or her Restricted Stock Units granted in accordance with this Section 6(b) upon termination of Continuous Service (as defined in the A&R 2015 Plan) for any reason prior to the Vesting Date, except to the extent an applicable severance plan or an individual employment, retention, or other written agreement between the Company and such Participant provides for payment of any portion of an annual performance bonus in connection with a qualifying termination of employment resulting in the accelerated vesting of any such Restricted Stock Units. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may, subject to the consent of a Participant, pay any portion of an Actual Bonus Award that is greater than or less than sixty (60) percent of the Participant’s Target Bonus Award (determined as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date) in the form of Restricted





Stock Units, subject to the requirements of applicable law. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Bonus Plan, any Actual Bonus Award that becomes payable under this Bonus Plan to an employee or consultant that becomes a Participant in the Bonus Plan following March 1, 2021 but on or before October 1, 2021, may be paid in cash or in a combination of Restricted Stock Units and cash, in each case at the sole discretion of the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable.
(ii)Cash Portion of Actual Bonus Award. Subject to Sections 6(d), to the extent a Participant’s Actual Bonus Award determined on the Payout Determination Date exceeds sixty (60) percent of the Participant’s Target Bonus Award (determined as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date) and the Participant was granted Restricted Stock Units in accordance with the terms of Section 6(b)(i), the remainder of a Participant’s Actual Bonus Award (determined by subtracting the dollar amount of sixty (60) percent of the Target Bonus Award as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date (without regard to the value of the Restricted Stock Units at any date) from the dollar amount of the Actual Bonus Award determined on the Payout Determination Date), if any, shall be paid to the Participant in cash as soon as is practicable following the Payout Determination Date for the Performance Period, but in no event later than the 15th day of the third calendar month after the end of the calendar year in which the Participant’s Actual Bonus Award is no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, within the meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(d). Payments under this Bonus Plan shall be made in a manner that complies with Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4), and this Bonus Plan shall be construed in accordance with such provision. To the extent the dollar amount of a Participant’s Actual Bonus Award determined on the Payout Determination Date is greater than $0 but less than sixty (60) percent of the Participant’s Target Bonus Award on the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date (determined as the dollar amount of the Target Bonus Award as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date without regard to the value of the Restricted Stock Units at any date), the Participant shall not be entitled to any portion of his or her Actual Bonus Award paid in cash, and the Participant shall forfeit for no consideration any Restricted Stock Units that have not vested in accordance with this Section 6(b).
(iii)Example. Assume a Participant’s Base Compensation is $120,000 and target bonus percentage is 20%, such that the Participant’s Target Bonus Award as of the Corporate Performance Goal Determination Date is $24,000. Assume further that the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the Grant Date of the Restricted Stock Units for the applicable Performance Period is $40.00 per share. On the Grant Date, the Participant shall be granted Restricted Stock Units with respect to 360 shares of Common Stock ($24,000 multiplied by 60% divided by $40.00) that are eligible to vest on the Vesting Date for the applicable Performance Period based upon the level of achievement and the Corporate Achievement Factor and the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor. Assume further that the Committee determines that the Corporate Achievement Factor for the Performance Period is 100% and the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, determines that the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor is 120%. As a result of these determinations, the Participant is entitled to an Actual Bonus Award for the Performance Period equal to $28,800 ($24,000 x 100% x 120%). On the Payout Determination Date 360 shares subject to the Restricted Stock Units shall vest ($28,800 Actual Bonus Award divided by $40.00 (subject to a limit of 100% of Restricted Stock





Units granted)). In addition, since Restricted Stock Units with a value of $14,400 were granted to the Participant on the Grant Date, the cash portion of the Participant’s Actual Bonus Award shall be $14,400 ($28,800 - $14,400), paid in accordance with the terms of the Bonus Plan, regardless of the value of the Restricted Stock Units on the Payout Determination Date. Alternatively, assume that on the Payout Determination Date the Committee determines that the Corporate Achievement Factor is 60% and the Committee or the Designated Officer, as applicable, determines that the Participant’s Personal Performance Factor for the Performance Period is 60%. As a result of these determinations, the Participant is entitled to an Actual Bonus Award for the Performance Period equal to $8,640 ($24,000 x 60% x 60%). The Participant will not be entitled to the payment of any portion of the Actual Bonus Award in cash, and the Participant will vest in only 216 Restricted Stock Units ($8,640 Actual Bonus Award divided by $40.00) and the remaining 144 Restricted Stock Units will be forfeited.
(c)Tax Withholding. The Company will withhold from any payments under the Bonus Plan and from any other amounts payable to a Participant by the Company any amount required to satisfy the income and employment tax withholding obligations arising under applicable federal and state laws in respect of an Actual Bonus Award. Without limiting the forgoing, with respect to any portion of an Actual Bonus Award paid in Restricted Stock Units, the Company may, in its sole discretion, satisfy all or any portion of its tax withholding obligations by (i) causing a Participant to tender a cash payment, (ii) permitting or requiring a Participant to enter into a “same day sale” commitment, if applicable, with a broker-dealer whereby the Participant irrevocably elects to sell a portion of the shares of Common Stock to be delivered in connection with the settlement of the Restricted Stock Units to satisfy the Company’s withholding obligation and whereby the broker-dealer irrevocably commits to forward the proceeds necessary to satisfy the Company’s withholding obligation directly to the Company, or (iii) withholding from any shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to a Participant upon settlement of Restricted Stock Units a number of whole shares having a fair market value as of the date of payment (as determined under the A&R 2015 Plan) not in excess of the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by the Company by law. The Company may require the Participant to satisfy any remaining amount of the tax withholding obligations by tendering a cash payment. Each Participant is encouraged to contact his or her personal legal or tax advisors with respect to the benefits provided by the Bonus Plan. Neither the Company nor any of its employees, directors, officers or agents are authorized to provide any tax advice to Participants with respect to the benefits provided under the Bonus Plan.
(d)Deferral. The Committee, in its sole discretion, may permit a Participant to defer receipt of the payment of any Actual Bonus Award in cash that would otherwise be delivered to a Participant under the Bonus Plan pursuant to Section 6(b). Any such deferral elections will comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, and will be subject to such rules and procedures as will be determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion.
7.Amendment and Termination of the Bonus Plan. The Committee may amend, modify, suspend or terminate the Bonus Plan, in whole or in part, at any time, including adopting amendments deemed necessary or desirable to correct any defect or to supply omitted data or to reconcile any inconsistency in the Bonus Plan or in any Actual Bonus Award granted hereunder; provided, however, that no amendment, alteration, suspension or discontinuation shall be made





that would change the settlement dates of any Restricted Stock Units if such change would fail to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. At no time before the actual distribution of funds to Participants under the Bonus Plan or the vesting of Restricted Stock Units granted pursuant to the Bonus Plan shall any Participant accrue any vested interest or right whatsoever under the Bonus Plan except as otherwise stated in the Bonus Plan.
8.No Guarantee of Employment. The Bonus Plan is intended to provide a financial incentive to Participants and is not intended to confer any rights to continued employment or service upon Participants, whose employment or service will remain at-will and subject to termination by either the Company or Participant at any time, with or without cause or notice.
9.Recovery. Any amounts paid (or Restricted Stock Units granted) under this Bonus Plan will be subject to recoupment in accordance with the Company’s Policy for Recoupment of Incentive Compensation, as may be amended, including to comply with the listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which the Company’s securities are listed or as is otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law. No recovery of compensation under such a clawback policy will be an event giving rise to a right to resign for “good reason” or “constructive termination” (or similar term) under any plan of or agreement with the Company.






EXHIBIT A
2021 CORPORATE PERFORMANCE GOALS



Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Pursuant to Section 302 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
I, Matthew J. Desch, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Iridium Communications Inc.;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
  a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
  b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
  c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
  d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
  a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
  b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
 
Date: April 20, 2021 /s/ Matthew J. Desch
  Matthew J. Desch
  Chief Executive Officer
(principal executive officer)


Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER
Pursuant to Section 302 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
I, Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Iridium Communications Inc.;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
  a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
  b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
  c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
  d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
  a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
  b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
 
Date: April 20, 2021 /s/ Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
  Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
  Chief Financial Officer
(principal financial officer)



Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATIONS OF
PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER
PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of Iridium Communications Inc. (the “Company”) each hereby certifies that, to the best of his knowledge:
1. The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, to which this Certification is attached as Exhibit 32.1 (the “Quarterly Report”), fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and
2. The information contained in the Quarterly Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition of the Company at the end of the period covered by the Quarterly Report and results of operations of the Company for the periods covered in the financial statements in the Quarterly Report.
Dated: April 20, 2021
 
/s/ Matthew J. Desch   /s/ Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
Matthew J. Desch   Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
Chief Executive Officer   Chief Financial Officer
This certification accompanies the Quarterly Report and shall not be deemed “filed” by the Company for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.