Blues, a prominent leader in IoT connectivity solutions, announced Starnote for Iridium® at The Things Conference.
The new offering in Blues' Starnote family is an accessory that plugs into a Blues Cellular or WiFi Notecard, providing fallback message routing through Iridium satellite IoT connectivity when primary connectivity is unavailable. Blues is accepting applications for the Starnote for Iridium beta program with the product expected to be in production during Q1, 2026.
Monitoring products in remote or mobile environments often becomes costly for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Global cellular connectivity has gaps in coverage, and in many remote locations, devices go out of service or data transmission is unreliable. Satellite IoT data can also be quite expensive, especially when devices are idle or data usage is sporadic, making recurring subscription fees hard to justify. Hardware must be rugged, and servicing equipment in remote or hard‑to‑reach areas adds travel and maintenance expenses.
Starnote for Iridium expands Blues' industry-leading range of plug-and-play radio access technologies. Blues originally launched its Starnote product line in February 2024 as an add-on extension to its flagship product, Notecard. While the original launch made satellite IoT connectivity more accessible than ever, it became clear that Blues customers needed reliable connectivity in even the most remote locations on Earth.
Executive Statement
According to Brandon Satrom, SVP of Product & Experience at Blues, until now, cost constraints and technical complexity have prevented entire categories of products from being service-enabled with satellite IoT. With Starnote for Iridium industries such as energy, transportation and logistics, and commercial equipment manufacturing can now confidently deploy and scale their connected products to anywhere on Earth without taking on the burden of building it themselves, navigating new certifications and managing expensive satellite IoT subscriptions.
