A Guide to Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT)

Iridium Messaging Transport® (IMT®) is a way for businesses to send and receive small to medium-sized messages through a system called Iridium CloudConnect. It uses standard ways of communicating and organising messages, and it works with various Iridium Certus® modules.

To put it simply, imagine you have a set of devices, for example sensors or trackers, spread out in different places, and you need to send messages between them or get updates from them. IMT helps you do that reliably and efficiently.

Real-world examples could include:

• Environmental Monitoring: researchers might use IMT to collect data from sensors placed in forests, oceans, or remote areas to monitor things like temperature, humidity, or pollution levels.
• Asset Tracking: businesses can track their vehicles, containers, or equipment in remote locations using IMT to send and receive location updates and other important data.
• Fleet Management: shipping companies can use IMT to communicate with ships at sea, monitoring their status, sending instructions, or receiving alerts in case of emergencies.
• Remote Infrastructure Management: energy companies might use IMT to monitor and control remote power stations or pipelines, ensuring they operate smoothly and detecting any issues early on.

IMT is designed for IoT/M2M applications, and joins several other satellite airtime services in this space. So what makes IMT different?

Through various Iridium Certus modules, IMT lets you send data packets over the Iridium network in a streamlined approach that significantly simplifies the processes of design, development, integration, message management, and transaction flow.

• Message Size: IMT transmits data packets ranging from 1 to 100,000 bytes, ensuring unparalleled flexibility to accommodate diverse application needs.
• Industry Standard Protocols: Harnessing the power of Python, a widely recognised programming language, IMT delivers data to customers via Simple Queue Service (SQS) in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format.
• Topics: IMT efficiently exchanges messages through Topics, offering customisable settings for priorities, persistence, and queue capacities.
• Pub/Sub: IMT's pub/sub messaging model serves as the intermediary for data transfers, providing a straightforward communication approach.