Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Standard Product Warranty, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Warranty Expense
 
The Company provides the first end-user purchaser of its subscriber equipment a warranty for one to five years from the date of purchase by such first end-user, depending on the product. The Company maintains a warranty reserve based on historical experience of warranty costs and expected occurrences of warranty claims on equipment. Costs associated with warranties, including equipment replacements, repairs, freight, and program administration, are recorded as cost of subscriber equipment in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income. The Company experienced a $2.4 million decrease in its warranty provision for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the prior year period. This decrease is primarily the result of fewer returns for the Iridium Pilot® units sold in 2014 and 2015 and a decrease in the average repair costs. Changes in the warranty reserve during the three months ended March 31, 2015 were as follows:
 
 
 
Three Months Ended
 
 
 
March 31, 2015
 
 
 
(in thousands)
 
Balance at beginning of the period
 
$
7,381
 
Provision
 
 
11
 
Utilization
 
 
(806)
 
Balance at end of the period
 
$
6,586
 
Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]
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. The instruments identified as subject to fair value measurements on a recurring basis are cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses and other current liabilities. 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.
 
The carrying values of short-term financial instruments (primarily cash and cash equivalents, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other current liabilities) approximate their fair values because of their short-term nature. The fair value of the Company’s investments in money market funds approximates its carrying value; such instruments are classified as Level 1 and are included in cash and cash equivalents on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of the Company’s investments in commercial paper and short-term U.S. agency securities with original maturities of less than ninety days approximates their carrying value; such instruments are classified as Level 2 and are included in cash and cash equivalents on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.
 
The fair value of the Company’s investments in fixed-income debt securities and commercial paper with original maturities of greater than ninety days are obtained using similar investments traded on active securities exchanges and are classified as Level 2 and are included in marketable securities on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. For fixed income securities that do not have quoted prices in active markets, the Company uses third-party vendors to price its debt securities resulting in classification as Level 2.
Depreciation, Depletion, and Amortization [Policy Text Block]
Depreciation and Amortization
 
The Company calculates depreciation expense using the straight line method and evaluates the appropriateness of the useful life used on a quarterly basis or as events occur that require additional assessment. In September 2014 and again in March 2015, the Company updated its estimate of the current satellites’ remaining useful lives based on the continued refinement of the launch schedule and deployment plan for the Company’s next-generation satellite constellation (“Iridium NEXT”). As a result, the estimated useful lives of the satellites within the current constellation have been extended and are consistent with the expected deployment of Iridium NEXT. The changes in the estimated useful lives resulted in a decrease of $3.0 million in depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2014. The March 2015 change in accounting estimate reduced the depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 by $0.2 million and the change in estimate will have an impact on future periods. The Company will continue to evaluate the useful lives of its current satellites on an ongoing basis through the full deployment of Iridium NEXT as the satellites are placed into service.
 
During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company lost communication with one of its in-orbit satellites. As a result, an impairment charge of $0.9 million was recorded within depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2014. The Company had an in-orbit spare satellite available to replace the lost satellite. Through the date of the report in which these financial statements are included, the Company has not lost any satellites in 2015.
 
Amortization expense decreased by $3.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the prior year period due to the completion of amortization of certain definite-lived intangible assets in 2014. These definite-lived intangible assets included customer relationships, intellectual property and software which were assigned fair values as a result of the Company’s 2009 acquisition of Iridium Holdings LLC and were amortized over useful lives of five years.