"Over the past 12 months, Iridium has experienced a dramatic upsurge in subscriptions and traffic from federal, state, regional and local government agencies as well as non-governmental public-safety organizations, driven largely by Iridium's record of network quality, which cannot be matched by other mobile satellite systems," said Greg Ewert, executive vice president, Iridium Satellite.

"Idaho and other states are discovering that Iridium's fully meshed low-earth-orbit satellite network provides an unbeatable value proposition of ubiquitous gap-free coverage and reliable connectivity, offering an important utility for government agencies in supplying vital public services to their citizens."

WCC won the Idaho contract under a blanket purchasing contract with the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA). WCC was awarded a three-year contract in March 2007 from the Utah Division of Purchasing and General Services, acting as agent for the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA), to be the exclusive supplier of Iridium satellite products and services for 15 Western states. The contract duration is through May 1, 2010, with provision for three one-year renewal options.

"Idaho is the first WSCA state government to act under the WSCA Iridium purchasing agreement," said Sam Romey, president of WCC. "We expect similar contracts from other WSCA states in coming months."

"Most of the Western states have large expanses of sparsely populated territory with limited landline and wireless coverage," noted Ewert.

"Iridium offers satellite voice and data links to support critical public services for these wide-open spaces. Iridium is the only mobile satellite service that provides universal coverage over this entire area, including the far northern regions of Alaska. Iridium also provides reliable redundant communication links to augment existing infrastructure, which may be disrupted or overburdened in the wake of natural disasters or terrorist attack."

The Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) was formed in October 1993 by the purchasing directors from 15 western states. The primary purpose is to establish the means by which participating states may join together in cooperative multi-state contracting in order to achieve cost-effective and efficient acquisition of quality products and services.

The WSCA member states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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