Iridium is in the early stages of launching a new communications network for its customers that will use its own equipment.
The company announced Thursday that it is expanding its Iridium Next network to the U.S. and Canada.
It will be able to operate in the U., U.K. and Mexico, and will be a joint venture between the companies.
Iridium said it will start in 2018 and add new customers to the network.
The Iridium Network will be Iridium’s largest and most advanced network to date.
The network will include Iridium One, Iridium Two, Irium Three and Iridium Four.
“We’ve been working for years on building this network, and it’s finally here,” Iridium Chief Executive Officer John Ralston said in a statement.
“This is the most advanced data center network in the world and will enable customers to connect more people to their data, whether they are in a business or home, and to do it faster than ever before.”
The company’s first customers will be Apple Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG.
The announcement comes as a backlash against the Trump administration’s plans to roll back regulations and roll back protections for net neutrality.
The move has been condemned by Internet companies, internet users and activists.
“I am very concerned about the direction of the Trump Administration’s rollback of net neutrality rules,” Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google, wrote in a tweet.
“It’s bad for our businesses, bad for consumers, and bad for the Internet.”
Iridium also announced plans to build its own servers and expand its infrastructure, but it said the plans would be in line with existing agreements with telecom companies.
The new network will have access to existing Iridium equipment and data centers, and the company said it would use the equipment and infrastructure to support its own customer base.
Iridian said the network will support more than 100 million customers in 40 countries.