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*** : iridium Iridium Announces First - Quarter 2021 Results - Commences Share Buyback Program MCLEAN , Va . , April 20 , 2021 / PRNewswire / -- Iridium Communications Inc. ( Nasdaq : IRDM ) ( " Iridium " ) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2021 and reiterated its full - year 2021 outlook . Net loss was $ 5.2 million , or $ 0.04 per diluted share , for the first quarter of 2021 , as compared to net loss of $ 31.7 million , or $ 0.24 per diluted share , for the first quarter of 2020. This decrease in net loss was primarily the result of the absence of debt extinguishment costs , which were incurred in the year ago period with Iridium's refinancing of its senior unsecured notes . Operational EBITDA ( " OEBITDA " ) ( 1 ) for the first quarter was $ 89.8 million , as compared to $ 92.1 million for the prior - year period , representing a year - over - year decrease of 2 % and an OEBITDA margin ( 1 ) of 61 % . The change in OEBITDA primarily resulted from service revenue in the prior - year's quarter being relatively unaffected by the COVID - 19 pandemic . Iridium reported first - quarter total revenue of $ 146.5 million , which consisted of $ 116.2 million of service revenue and $ 30.3 million of revenue related to equipment sales and engineering and support projects . Total revenue increased 1 % from the comparable period of 2020 , while service revenue was essentially flat to the year - ago period . Service revenue , which represents primarily recurring revenue from Iridium's growing subscriber base , was 79 % of total revenue for the first quarter of 2021 . The Company ended the quarter with 1,518,000 total billable subscribers , which compares to 1,332,000 for the year - ago period and is up from 1,476,000 for the quarter ended December 31 , 2020. Total billable subscribers grew 14 % year - over - year , driven by growth in commercial and government loT customers . " Iridium delivered first quarter results in line with our forecast . While total revenue increased , it's hard to compare this quarter's performance to the pre - pandemic period a year earlier . Subscribers grew at a double - digit pace , led by ongoing demand for consumer - oriented loT devices , and Iridium's commercial IoT subscribers eclipsed one million users on our network this quarter , " said Matt Desch , CEO , Iridium . Desch added , " We feel very good about Iridium's ability to accelerate service revenue growth over the balance of the year based upon the positive feedback and activity we are seeing with our business partners . " Commenting on the Company's share repurchase program , Desch said , " Iridium retired 1.6 million shares of common stock during the quarter under its recently authorized share repurchase program . The open - market activity reflects our confidence in Iridium's business prospects and our outlook for strong revenue growth into the future . " Iridium Business Highlights Service - Commercial Commercial service remained the largest part of Iridium's business , representing 62 % of the Company's total revenue during the first quarter . The Company's commercial customer base is diverse and includes markets such as maritime , aviation , oil and gas , mining , recreation , forestry , construction , transportation and emergency services . These customers rely on Iridium's products and services as critical to their daily operations and integral to their communications and business infrastructure . • Commercial service revenue was $ 90.4 million , down 1 % from the year - ago period , due to the prior period being largely unaffected by the global pandemic , as well as lower hosted payload revenue . • Commercial voice and data subscribers were essentially flat from the year - ago period at 350,000 customers . Commercial voice and data average revenue per user ( " ARPU " ) was $ 39 during the first quarter , compared to $ 40 in last year's comparable period . Commercial loT data subscribers grew 21 % from the year - ago period to 1,003,000 customers , driven by continued strength in consumer personal communications devices . Commercial loT data ARPU was $ 8.39 in the first quarter , compared to $ 9.71 in last year's comparable period . • Commercial broadband revenue was $ 9.4 million , up from $ 8.7 million in the year - ago period . This rise was primarily attributable to ongoing adoption of Iridium Certus broadband service . Commercial broadband average revenue per user ( " ARPU " ) was $ 265 during the first quarter , compared to $ 267 in last year's comparable period . • Iridium's commercial business ended the quarter with 1,365,000 billable subscribers , which