Governor Allen Announces 250 New Jobs from Iridium Telecommunications

Advanced Communications Consortium Locates Center in Fairfax County

Fairfax County - Governor George Allen today announced that Iridium LLC, a company started by Motorola, Inc. in 1991, will locate a new office in Fairfax County, creating 250 new jobs for Virginians. The plan calls for an $8 million investment in capital and personnel over the next year. The new center, located in Reston, will serve as the central processing point for Iridium's global telecommunications network. Virginia successfully competed with Maryland and Washington, DC, for the center.

"Iridium's fantastic investment further enhances Virginia's reputation as the technology capital of the East Coast, and contributes mightily to our Silicon Dominion," said Governor Allen. "Iridium is helping to launch Virginia into the vanguard of worldwide wireless communications. Their service will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and will set new standards for the wireless communications industry."

Iridium LLC is an international consortium of leading telecommunications and industrial companies funding the development and implementation of the Iridium system. Iridium is developing and commercializing a global wireless communications network that will combine the worldwide reach of 66 low-earth-orbit satellites with land-based wireless systems to enable subscribers to communicate using handheld telephones and pagers virtually anywhere in the world with service introduction planned for 1998. The company currently operates a facility in Lansdowne, Virginia where 200 employees control the satellites.

"Our partnership with Virginia has been one of the keys to success in this venture," said Iridium Chairman, Robert Kinzie. "Governor Allen and Fairfax County Board Chairwoman Kate Hanley have helped to create one of the best high technology corridors in the country. We look forward to expanding our business here and are in the process hiring some of the finest employees in the world."

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority assisted the company with its decision.

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