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Iridium Announces 2023 Results; Company Issues 2024 Outlook

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Extends estimate of useful life of satellites by five years

MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) (“Iridium”) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2023 and issued its full-year 2024 guidance. Net income was $38.0 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023, as compared to net loss of $0.8 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2022. Operational EBITDA (“OEBITDA”)(1) for the fourth quarter was $114.1 million, as compared to $107.0 million for the prior-year period, representing a year-over-year increase of 7%. Net income benefitted from a year-over-year decrease in depreciation expense resulting from a change in the estimated useful lives of the Company’s satellites, an increase in tax benefit and continued growth in total commercial services revenue.

Iridium reported fourth-quarter total revenue of $194.7 million, which consisted of $148.0 million of service revenue and $46.7 million of revenue related to equipment sales and engineering and support projects. Total revenue was in line with last year’s comparable period and included an 8% increase in service revenue. Service revenue, which represents primarily recurring revenue from Iridium’s growing subscriber base, was 76% of total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Company ended the quarter with 2,279,000 total billable subscribers, which compares to 1,999,000 for the year-ago period and is up from 2,236,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Total billable subscribers grew 14% year-over-year, driven by growth in commercial IoT.

Full-Year 2023 Iridium Business Highlights

For the full year, Iridium reported net income of $15.4 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $8.7 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, for 2022. The change primarily resulted from an increase in income tax benefit offset in part by an increase in interest expense related to the fees paid for the refinancing of our Term Loan and the increase in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), which is the benchmark interest rate of the Term Loan. The Company reported record total revenue in 2023 of $790.7 million, which was up 10% from the year-ago period. Total revenue included $584.5 million of service revenue and $206.2 million of revenue related to equipment sales and engineering and support services. OEBITDA for 2023 was $463.1 million, a 9% increase from $424.0 million in the prior year. Capital expenditures were $73.5 million for the full-year 2023.

“Iridium executed well in 2023, delivering another solid year of commercial services growth. Strength was broad based with subscriber growth across all commercial service lines,” said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. Desch added, “Our strong cash flow supported ongoing return of more than $310 million of capital to shareholders, including dividend payments of about $65 million in 2023.”

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Iridium conducted its annual evaluation of asset useful lives. The analysis considered the health of Iridium’s constellation, satellite performance and the successful launch of five in-orbit spares in 2023. As a result of this assessment, the satellites’ estimated useful lives have been extended by five years from 12.5 years to 17.5 years. The change will affect the timing of certain revenue and expense items.

Commenting on the change in estimated useful life of Iridium’s satellites, Desch said, “This action is a validation of our expectations for Iridium’s extended capex holiday.”

Fourth-Quarter Iridium Business Highlights

Service – Commercial

Commercial service remained the largest part of Iridium’s business, representing 62% of the Company’s total revenue during the fourth quarter. The Company’s commercial customer base is diverse and includes markets such as maritime, aviation, oil and gas, mining, recreation, forestry, construction, transportation and emergency services. These customers rely on Iridium’s products and services as critical to their daily operations and integral to their communications and business infrastructure.

Commercial service revenue was $121.5 million, up 10% from last year’s comparable period due to broad-based growth across all revenue lines.Commercial voice and data: Revenue was $55.6 million, up 12% from the year-ago period. Subscribers grew 3% from the year-ago period to 408,000. Average revenue per user (“ARPU”) was $45 during the fourth quarter, compared to $41 in last year’s comparable period, with the increase due primarily to higher access fees.Commercial IoT data: Revenue was $36.1 million, up 12% from the year-ago period. Subscribers grew 18% from the year-ago period to 1,709,000 customers, driven by continued growth in consumer personal communications devices. ARPU was $7.12 in the fourth quarter, compared to $7.50 in last year’s comparable period. The decrease in ARPU resulted primarily from customer mix, including the effect of the growing proportion of personal communications subscribers, who typically utilize lower ARPU plans.Commercial broadband: Revenue was $14.6 million, up 5% from $13.9 million in the year-ago period. ARPU was $294 during the fourth quarter, compared to $313 in last year’s comparable period, reflecting the increased prevalence of Iridium’s use as a companion service rather than primary.Hosted payload and other data service: Revenue was $15.2 million, up 3% from $14.7 million in the year-ago period. There was a year-over-year decrease in hosted payload revenue related to the change in the estimated useful lives of Iridium’s satellites described above that went into effect in the fourth quarter of 2023. This decrease was more than offset by higher precision location service revenues of which $2 million was non-recurring and resulted from an updated estimate on a customer contract.Iridium’s commercial business ended the quarter with 2,134,000 billable subscribers, which compares to 1,860,000 for the prior-year quarter and is up from 2,094,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. IoT data subscribers represented 80% of billable commercial subscribers at the end of the quarter, an increase from 78% at the end of the prior-year period.

Service – U.S. Government

Iridium’s voice and data solutions improve situational awareness for military personnel and track critical assets in tough environments around the globe, providing a unique value proposition that is not easily duplicated.

Under Iridium’s Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services contract (the “EMSS Contract”), a seven-year, $738.5 million fixed-price airtime contract with the U.S. Space Force signed in September 2019, Iridium provides specified satellite airtime services, including unlimited global standard and secure voice, paging, fax, Short Burst Data®, Iridium Burst®, RUDICS and Distributed Tactical Communications System services for an unlimited number of Department of Defense and other federal government subscribers. Iridium also provides maintenance and support work for the U.S. government’s dedicated Iridium gateway under two other contracts with the U.S. Space Force. Iridium Certus® airtime services are not included under these contracts and may be procured separately for an additional fee.

Government service revenue remained flat at $26.5 million in the fourth quarter reflecting the contractual rate in the EMSS Contract.Iridium’s U.S. government business ended the quarter with 145,000 subscribers, which compares to 139,000 for the prior-year quarter and 142,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Government voice and data subscribers increased 3% from the year-ago period to 62,000 as of December 31, 2023. Government IoT data subscribers increased 5% year-over-year and represented 57% of government subscribers at year-end.

Equipment

Equipment revenue was $15.7 million in the fourth quarter compared to $39.3 million in the prior-year quarter.Equipment revenue totaled $105.1 million in 2023, compared to $134.7 million in 2022. In 2024, the Company expects equipment sales to be lower than 2023 and be more in line with periods prior to 2022 which experienced supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic.

Engineering & Support

Engineering and support revenue was $31.1 million during the fourth quarter, compared to $17.8 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to a rise in activity with the U.S. government.Engineering and Support revenue totaled $101.1 million in 2023, compared to $51.6 million in 2022. In 2024, the Company expects Engineering and Support revenue to increase from 2023 with ongoing work on the Space Development Agency contract.

Capital expenditures were $16.2 million for the fourth quarter, including $1.2 million in capitalized interest. The Company ended the fourth quarter with gross debt of $1.5 billion and a cash and cash equivalents balance of $71.9 million, for a net debt balance of $1.4 billion.

Iridium paid its fourth quarter dividend of $0.13 per common share on December 29, 2023. Total dividends paid to stockholders during 2023 totaled $64.8 million. The Board of Directors plans to increase the quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share starting with the second quarter 2024 dividend, which would result in a full-year dividend increase of 5.8%.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased approximately 1.3 million shares of its common stock under its previously announced share repurchase program at a total purchase price of $51.6 million. As of December 31, 2023, $334.0 million remained available and authorized for repurchase under this program.

2024 and Longer-Term Outlook

The Company issued its full-year 2024 outlook and updated long-term guidance on cash taxes:

Total service revenue growth between 4% and 6% for full-year 2024. Total service revenue for 2023 was $584.5 million.Full-year 2024 OEBITDA between $460 million and $470 million. OEBITDA for 2023 was $463.1 million.Cash taxes of less than $10 million per year from 2024 through 2026. We now expect that the longer-term cash tax rate will move closer to the statutory rate in 2028.Net leverage below 2.5 times OEBITDA between 2026 and 2029 and falling below 2.0 times OEBITDA by the end of the decade, assuming the completion of the Company’s share repurchase authorization and the payment of quarterly dividends. Net leverage was 3.1 times OEBITDA at December 31, 2023.

(1) Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company provides Operational EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as a supplemental measure to help investors evaluate the Company’s fundamental operational performance. Operational EBITDA represents earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, income (loss) on equity method investments, net, and share-based compensation expenses. The Company considers the loss on early extinguishment of debt to be financing-related costs associated with interest expense or amortization of financing fees, which by definition are excluded from Operational EBITDA. Such charges are incidental to, but not reflective of, the Company’s day-to-day operating performance. Operational EBITDA does not represent, and should not be considered, an alternative to U.S. GAAP measurements such as net income or loss. In addition, there is no standardized measurement of Operational EBITDA, and the Company’s calculations thereof may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The Company believes Operational EBITDA is a useful measure across time in evaluating its fundamental core operating performance. Management also uses Operational EBITDA to manage the business, including in preparing its annual operating budget, debt covenant compliance, financial projections and compensation plans. The Company believes that Operational EBITDA is also useful to investors because similar measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies in similar industries. As indicated, Operational EBITDA does not include interest expense on borrowed money, the payment of income taxes, amortization of the Company’s definite-lived intangible assets, or depreciation expense on the Company’s capital assets, which are necessary elements of the Company’s operations. Since Operational EBITDA does not account for these and other expenses, its utility as a measure of the Company’s operating performance has material limitations. Due to these limitations, the Company’s management does not view Operational EBITDA in isolation, but also uses other measurements, such as net income (loss), revenues and operating profit, to measure operating performance. Please refer to the schedule below for a reconciliation of consolidated GAAP net income (loss) to Operational EBITDA and Iridium’s Investor Relations webpage at www.iridium.com for a discussion and reconciliation of this and other non-GAAP financial measures. We do not provide a forward-looking reconciliation of expected full-year 2024 Operational EBITDA guidance as the amount and significance of special items required to develop meaningful comparable GAAP financial measures cannot be estimated at this time without unreasonable efforts.

Iridium Communications Inc.

Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) to Operational EBITDA

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended December 31,

Year Ended December 31,

2023

2022

2023

2022

GAAP net income (loss)

$               38,023

$                 (808)

$               15,415

$                8,722

Interest expense, net

19,114

18,100

90,387

65,089

Income tax (benefit) expense

(9,578)

(721)

(26,251)

292

Depreciation and amortization

52,787

75,745

320,000

303,484

Share-based compensation

11,955

12,102

57,455

43,729

Loss on extinguishment of debt

—

1,187

—

1,187

Loss on equity method investments

1,768

1,402

6,089

1,496

Operational EBITDA

$             114,069

$             107,007

$             463,095

$            423,999

Conference Call Information

As previously announced, the Company will host a conference call to discuss its results at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Callers should dial 1-412-902-6740 to access the call. The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast on Iridium’s Investor Relations webpage at www.iridium.com. An archive of the webcast will be available following the live conference call.

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium® is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. In 2019, the company completed a generational upgrade of its satellite network and launched its specialty broadband service, Iridium Certus. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Iridium’s expectations with respect to total service revenue growth, OEBITDA and cash taxes for 2024; net leverage and cash taxes over the longer-term; anticipated equipment sales and engineering and support service revenue for 2024; amount and timing of share repurchases and the payment of dividends, and expected revenues from its EMSS contract with the U.S. government.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words “anticipates,” “may,” “can,” “believes,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “likely,” “will,” “to be” and other expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Iridium to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding customer demand for Iridium’s products and services, including demand from the U.S. government; Iridium’s ability to maintain the health, capacity and content of its satellite constellation, and the development of and market for Iridium’s products and services, as well as general industry and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include those factors listed under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 15, 2024, as well as other filings Iridium makes with the SEC from time to time.  There is no assurance that Iridium’s expectations will be realized. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Iridium’s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Iridium’s forward-looking statements are based on information available to it as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of this press release, and Iridium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Iridium Communications Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended December 31,

2023

2022

Revenue

Service revenue

Commercial

$              121,513

$              110,274

Government

26,500

26,500

Total service revenue

148,013

136,774

Subscriber equipment

15,662

39,252

Engineering and support service

31,065

17,810

  Total revenue

194,740

193,836

Operating expenses

Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

45,279

31,341

Cost of subscriber equipment sales

10,335

25,630

Research and development

5,728

5,748

Selling, general and administrative

34,315

36,599

Depreciation and amortization

52,787

75,745

  Total operating expenses

148,444

175,063

Operating income

46,296

18,773

Other expense, net

Interest expense, net

(19,114)

(18,100)

Loss on extinguishment of debt

—

(1,187)

Other income, net

3,031

387

  Total other expense, net

(16,083)

(18,900)

Income (loss) before income taxes

30,213

(127)

 Income tax benefit

9,578

721

 Loss on equity method investments

(1,768)

(1,402)

Net income (loss)

$                38,023

$                   (808)

Operational EBITDA

$              114,069

$              107,007

 

Iridium Communications Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands)

Year Ended December 31,

2023

2022

Revenue

Service revenue

Commercial

$              478,454

$              428,721

Government

106,000

106,000

Total service revenue

584,454

534,721

Subscriber equipment

105,136

134,714

Engineering and support service

101,133

51,599

  Total revenue

790,723

721,034

Operating expenses

Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

158,710

115,137

Cost of subscriber equipment sales

66,410

86,012

Research and development

20,269

16,218

Selling, general and administrative

143,706

123,504

Depreciation and amortization

320,000

303,484

  Total operating expenses

709,095

644,355

Operating income

81,628

76,679

Other expense, net

Interest expense, net

(90,387)

(65,089)

Loss on extinguishment of debt

—

(1,187)

Other income, net

4,012

107

  Total other expense, net

(86,375)

(66,169)

Income (loss) before income taxes

(4,747)

10,510

 Income tax benefit (expense)

26,251

(292)

 Loss on equity method investments

(6,089)

(1,496)

Net income

$                15,415

$                  8,722

Operational EBITDA

$              463,095

$              423,999

 

Iridium Communications Inc.

Summary Revenue and OEBITDA Highlights

(In thousands)

Three Months Ended December 31,

Year Ended December 31,

2023

2022

% Change

2023

2022

% Change

Revenue

Service revenue(1)

Commercial service revenue

Voice and data

$          55,649

$          49,491

12 %

$  219,242

$  193,112

14 %

IoT data(2)

36,065

32,158

12 %

141,036

125,015

13 %

Broadband(3)

14,620

13,942

5 %

57,878

51,143

13 %

Hosted payload and other data service(4)

15,179

14,683

3 %

60,298

59,451

1 %

Total commercial service revenue

121,513

110,274

10 %

478,454

428,721

12 %

Government service revenue(5)

26,500

26,500

0 %

106,000

106,000

0 %

Total service revenue

148,013

136,774

8 %

584,454

534,721

9 %

Subscriber equipment

15,662

39,252

-60 %

105,136

134,714

-22 %

Engineering and support(6)

Commercial

1,746

3,553

-51 %

11,050

7,833

41 %

Government

29,319

14,257

106 %

90,083

43,766

106 %

Total engineering and support

31,065

17,810

74 %

101,133

51,599

96 %

Total revenue

$        194,740

$        193,836

0 %

$  790,723

$  721,034

10 %

Operational EBITDA

Operational EBITDA

$        114,069

$        107,007

7 %

$  463,095

$  423,999

9 %

Other

Capital expenditures(7)

$          16,202

$          26,511

$    73,487

$    71,267

Net debt(8)

$     1,428,130

$     1,335,855

Cash and cash equivalents

$          71,870

$        168,770

Term Loan

$     1,500,000

$     1,504,625

Deferred financing costs

(17,510)

(17,440)

Term Loan, net

$     1,482,490

$     1,487,185

(1)

Service revenue consists of primarily subscription-based services which often generate a long-term recurring revenue stream from subscribers.

(2)

IoT data service provides a two-way short burst data transmission between Iridium Communications Inc.’s network and a telemetry unit, which may be located, for example, on a container in transit or a buoy monitoring oceanographic conditions.

(3)

Broadband is comprised of Iridium OpenPort® and Iridium Certus.

(4)

Hosted payload and other services consist primarily of services that do not have traditional billable subscribers. Hosted payload services consist of hosting and data services to our payload customers, Aireon and Harris. Other services include primarily Iridium Communications Inc.’s one-way satellite timing, location, and authentication services (STL) which provides position, navigation and timing technology.

(5)

Government service revenue consists of voice and IoT data subscription-based services provided to agencies of the U.S. government through prime contracts.

(6)

Engineering and support includes maintenance services to the U.S. government’s dedicated gateway and engineering services to assist customers in developing new technologies for use on Iridium Communications Inc.’s satellite system.

(7)

Capital expenditures based on cash spent in the respective period.

(8)

Net debt is calculated by taking the sum of the gross Term Loan B and gross drawn Revolving Facility, less cash and cash equivalents.

 

Iridium Communications Inc.

Subscriber Highlights

(In thousands, except ARPU)

As of December 31,

2023

2022

% Change

Billable Subscribers (1) (2)

Commercial

Voice and data, IoT data and Broadband service

Voice and data

408

397

3 %

IoT data

1,709

1,448

18 %

Broadband (4)

16.7

15.0

11 %

  Total commercial voice and data, IoT data
     and Broadband service

2,134

1,860

15 %

Government

Voice and data and IoT data service

Voice and data

62

60

3 %

IoT data

83

79

5 %

  Total government voice and data and IoT
     data service

145

139

4 %

Total billable subscribers

2,279

1,999

14 %

Three Months Ended December 31,

Year Ended December 31,

2023

2022

% Change

2023

2022

% Change

Net Billable Subscriber Additions

Commercial

Voice and data. IoT data and Broadband service

Voice and data

(2)

(4)

50 %

11

27

-59 %

IoT data

42

36

17 %

261

255

2 %

Broadband

0.2

0.3

-33 %

1.7

1.8

-6 %

  Total commercial voice and data, IoT data
     and Broadband service

40

32

24 %

274

284

-4 %

Government

Voice and data and IoT data service

Voice and data

1

(2)

150 %

2

(5)

140 %

IoT data

2

(4)

150 %

4

(3)

233 %

  Total government voice and data and IoT
     data service

3

(6)

150 %

6

(8)

175 %

Total net billable subscriber additions

43

26

64 %

280

276

2 %

Three Months Ended December 31,

Year Ended December 31,

2023

2022

% Change

2023

2022

% Change

 ARPU (2) (3)

Commercial

Voice and data

$                45

$                41

10 %

$          45

$          42

7 %

IoT data

$             7.12

$             7.50

(5) %

$       7.45

$       7.89

(6) %

Broadband

$              294

$              313

(6) %

$        305

$        302

1 %

(1)

Subscribers as of the end of the respective period.

(2)

Billable subscriber and ARPU data is not applicable for Hosted payload and other data service revenue items and is excluded from presentation above.

(3)

Average monthly revenue per unit, or ARPU, is calculated by dividing revenue in the respective period by the average of the number of billable subscribers at the beginning of the period and the number of billable subscribers at the end of the period and then dividing the result by the number of months in the period.

(4)

Broadband is comprised of Iridium OpenPort® and Iridium Certus.

 

Investor Contact:

Press Contact:

Kenneth Levy

Jordan Hassin

Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium Communications Inc.

+1 (703) 287-7570

+1 (703) 287-7421

ken.levy@iridium.com 

jordan.hassin@iridium.com 

 

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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.

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New GASA Research: 71% of Adults Surveyed Across 13 Asian Markets Encountered Scams, with Estimated Losses of US$136.5 Billion

Published

3 minutes ago

on

October 22, 2026

By

Research highlights a gap between confidence in recognizing scams and actual outcomes ahead of the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2026

BANGKOK, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — New research from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), developed in collaboration with Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall, reveals the scale and impact of scams across Asia. Among adults surveyed in 13 Asian markets, 71% encountered a scam in the past year. The study estimates that consumers across those markets lost a combined US$136.5 billion to scams over the same period.

The State of Scams in Asia 2026 report, based on a survey of 17,460 adults, also identifies a gap between confidence and outcomes. While 66% of respondents said they were confident in their ability to recognize scams, 62% of those who encountered one interacted with it. Among respondents who interacted with a scam, 26% lost money.

The findings are being released ahead of the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2026, taking place in Bangkok on 10–11 November. Following previous editions in Taiwan and Singapore, the summit will be held in Thailand for the first time, bringing together leaders from across sectors to strengthen the region’s response to evolving scams.

Phone calls and messages remain major points of exposure

Phone calls were the most common channel through which respondents encountered scams (56%), followed by text messages (50%) and instant messaging apps (40%). Shopping, investment and employment scams were the scam types respondents most commonly interacted with.

“Phone and text message scams remain a major challenge across Asia. In Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, more than six in ten respondents encountered scam calls. As scammers use AI-generated voices and increasingly convincing scripts, identifying suspicious numbers and warning users before they engage becomes even more important,” said Jeff Kuo, CEO of Gogolook. “Whoscall’s observations also suggest that scammers are adapting to tighter SIM registration and identity checks by using international and satellite numbers. That makes continued information sharing across markets essential.”

The harm extends beyond financial losses

The research estimates that consumers across the 13 markets lost US$136.5 billion to scams over the past 12 months. Among respondents who lost money, 51% said they had been scammed more than once.

The effects reached beyond the immediate financial loss. Among those who lost money, 72% reported an impact on their mental wellbeing, 77% experienced at least one emotional impact, and 58% experienced at least one financial impact affecting their everyday lives.

“One of the most striking findings is the gap between confidence and behavior. While 66% of respondents feel confident they can recognize scams, 62% of those who encountered one went on to interact with it. This shows why education is important but cannot be our only line of defense. We also need stronger safeguards that protect people throughout the scam journey.” said Brian D. Hanley, Director, Asia-Pacific Chapter, Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA).

Turning regional evidence into action

The findings will inform discussions at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2026, where representatives from government, law enforcement, financial services, technology, telecommunications, consumer protection and other sectors will explore ways to prevent and disrupt scams.

The research also points to public support for more proactive intervention. Across the markets surveyed, 71% supported allowing banks to block high-value transactions without a customer’s prior permission when they suspect a scam. Another 69% supported allowing telecom operators or messaging apps to block calls and messages they believe are malicious.

Reporting, however, does not always lead to recovery. While 85% of victims reported their scam experience, outcomes varied depending on where they reported it, and recovery and reimbursement remained limited.

Download the full State of Scams in Asia 2026 report here: https://gasa.org/knowledge-base/reports/state-of-scams-in-asia-2026

Registration for the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2026 is open. For the programme and registration details, visit the summit website: https://gasa.org/global-anti-scam-summit-asia-2026

About the research

The State of Scams in Asia 2026 surveyed 17,460 adults across 13 Asian markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Fieldwork was conducted between March 16 and April 13, 2026. The research was conducted by Opinium for the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and developed in collaboration with Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall.

About the Global Anti-Scam Alliance

The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) is a nonprofit organization bringing together policymakers, law enforcement, consumer authorities, NGOs, the financial sector, telecommunications operators, internet platforms, cybersecurity organizations and other stakeholders to share knowledge and develop solutions to protect consumers from scams.
GASA Website: https://gasa.org/

About Gogolook

Gogolook is a leading TrustTech company established in 2012. With “Build for Trust” as its core value, Gogolook has expanded its business from Asia to Europe and the Americas. As a foundation member of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), Gogolook collaborates with law enforcement agencies and public-sector organizations, including the Taiwan National Police Agency, the Royal Thai Police, the Philippines Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and the Royal Malaysia Police. These partnerships support its commitment to building a scam-free environment.
Gogolook Website: https://www.gogolook.com/

About Whoscall

Whoscall, developed by Gogolook, is a caller ID and digital anti-scam app designed to protect users from scams across various channels, including phone calls, text messages, social media, and links. With over 100 million downloads globally, it features the most comprehensive database in East and Southeast Asia, covering more than 2.6 billion phone numbers.
Whoscall Website: https://web.whoscall.com/en

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SOURCE Gogolook

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Voqalize Says Voice Is Becoming the Default Way People Use Software

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3 minutes ago

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October 22, 2026

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Voqalize is infrastructure for making software conversational. Existing applications, websites and AI agents can add a voice interface that listens, sees context, responds and acts, without being rebuilt.

BENGALURU, India, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Voqalize today said it gives existing applications, websites and AI agents a voice interface that can listen, see context, respond and act, without rebuilding the application. The company says teams can have it running in about an hour, either through Plug & Play, where Voqalize manages the AI agent and the voice experience, or through a developer integration into their own backend.

Imagine telling a clothing app: “I’ve got an outdoor wedding in Napa on the 20th. I need something under two hundred that goes with the shoes I bought in the spring.” The app pulls those shoes from your order history and lays out six options beside them. “Not the floral. Show me the second one in the navy.” It swaps the color and puts the shoes next to it. Then it adds: “You sent back a medium from this brand last time, so I picked the large. It arrives on the 17th.” You look it over and tap buy. That is the shift Voqalize is building for: voice not as input, but as an interface to software.

Fast facts

Apple’s iOS 27, released in September, lets Siri read what’s on a user’s screen and take actions inside appsGoogle reports that roughly one in five Gemini Live conversations now add a camera or screen share, with voice used in 63% of interactions across Gemini’s 1 billion-plus monthly usersA Censuswide survey of 700 business leaders and consumers for Voices, published Jan. 28, 2026, found that 55% of consumers say voice is their primary AI interface, while only 29% of companies have deployed customer-facing voice AI

Dictation Proved People Will Talk to Their Software

Dictation and notetaking apps are among the fastest-growing categories in consumer AI. Wispr, valued at $2 billion, and Granola, valued at $1.5 billion, have both built large user bases on a simple premise: people would rather talk than type, once the transcription is good enough. Wispr says the habit sticks. After six months, its average user writes 72% of their characters by voice.

The category is already moving past that original pitch. Wispr raised its most recent round on a case for going “beyond dictation.” Granola is expanding from a meeting notetaker into what it describes as a context layer for company AI. Superhuman acquired the notetaker Fathom in September. Talking to software stopped being the hard part. What people do with that voice next, and how directly it’s built into the products they already use, is where the category is headed.

“The next billion people coming online won’t type their way onto the internet. They’ll talk their way on, in whatever mix of languages they speak at home.” Sripathi Krishnan, Co-founder, Voqalize

Voice Is Moving From Typing Substitute to Default Interface

Voqalize’s argument is that voice is moving from a typing substitute into the default way people use an app: a running conversation, not a single dictated sentence, where the app listens, responds and can act on what’s on screen, with the interruptions and mid-task changes of direction that come with a real conversation. That mirrors a broader shift already underway on the phone line, where most current “voice AI” is still built around short, scripted calls that book an appointment or qualify a lead and then hang up. Apple’s iOS 27 and Google’s Gemini Live both point at the same shift: voice agents that can see a screen and act on it rather than just transcribe speech.

How Do You Add a Voice Interface to an Existing App?

An existing application or device connects through Voqalize rather than being rebuilt inside a new platform: Voqalize supplies the two-way voice channel and the ability to read and act on whatever is on screen. Businesses choose how much to hand over. With Plug & Play, Voqalize manages the AI agent and the voice experience. With a developer integration, businesses add Voqalize’s voice capabilities to their own backend while keeping control of their AI agent and workflows.

In some deployments, that voice is paired with a face on screen as well, so the person on the other end has something to talk to, not just a voice in the room. Sripathi Krishnan, the company’s co-founder, has argued that the harder part of that conversation may not be how fluently the agent talks, but how well it listens and knows when to stay quiet. Voqalize also works across Indic languages, because conversations in India often move between languages mid-sentence. A majority of Indian internet users already engage with content in Indic languages. Voice also makes software accessible across languages and across literacy and input constraints.

Building Toward Plug-and-Play Voice, Across Apps and Devices

Today, adding Voqalize to a product means connecting an existing application or device through a single interface, without rebuilding it inside a new platform. Voqalize says its near-term work is on extending that same one-connection model further, so that adding two-way voice to a new app, or to a device beyond the phone and the browser, becomes a plug-and-play step rather than a custom integration. That direction follows a broader move already visible in the industry: voice infrastructure is consolidating around shared frameworks instead of one-off builds, and AI tools are increasingly connecting to each other through standard connectors rather than custom code written for each pairing. Voqalize says it intends to be the layer that makes that same simplicity available for voice specifically, across whatever app or device a company is already building for.

“Soon people will judge an app by how well it understands them, the way you judge a shop by whether the person behind the counter gets what you mean.” Samkeet Jain, Co-founder, Voqalize

Voqalize is available today for teams adding a two-way voice interface to an existing product or AI agent. Early deployments include in-app assistants for mortgage servicing workflows, legal clause review, and authenticated banking support. Voqalize was also named one of the 30 products in YourStory’s Vibecode30 2026, a showcase of emerging AI-native builders in India.

About Voqalize Voqalize is a voice AI platform that makes it easy for businesses to add two-way voice conversations to their applications and AI agents across 60+ Global and Indic languages. With Plug & Play, Voqalize manages the AI agent and voice experience for you. With our developer integration, businesses can add Voqalize’s voice capabilities to their own backend while keeping control of their AI agent and workflows. Go ahead and build your next voice-enabled applications with us on voqalize.com.

Media Contact: Samkeet Jain / +91 8147514179 / Samkeet@voqalize.com 

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Sungrow Advances Integrated C&I Microgrid Solution to Southeast Asia

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3 minutes ago

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October 22, 2026

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As Southeast Asia’s manufacturing sector expands, businesses face growing pressure from rising electricity costs, power supply disruptions and increasingly complex energy demands. Sungrow, a globally leading PV inverter and energy storage system provider, has launched the Integrated C&I Microgrid Solution for Southeast Asia, bringing together PV inverters, energy storage systems, EV chargers, microgrid controllers and cloud platforms. The solution helps businesses access more economical, reliable, and cleaner power.

End-to-End Cost Optimization, Improving Overall Benefits by 12%

For businesses seeking to reduce energy costs without compromising power reliability, system sizing and energy dispatch are critical. Sungrow’s Integrated C&I Microgrid Solution is engineered to make clean energy a more cost-competitive choice for businesses.

Optimized System Sizing: 8,760-hour simulations and intelligent algorithms evaluate tens of thousands of system configurations to optimize the capacity of PV, storage and diesel generation, helping avoid overinvestment and undersized systems.Intelligent Energy Dispatch: PV generation and load forecasts are updated every five minutes. Based on these forecasts and real-time electricity prices, AI dynamically optimizes the dispatch of multiple energy sources, including PV, energy storage and diesel generation, helping businesses meet their energy needs at a lower cost. This boosts overall economic benefits by 12% and shortens project payback periods by 1–2 years.Flexible Market Participation: Open interfaces and support for major electricity market protocols enable participation in diverse market mechanisms and unlock additional revenue streams.

Industry-First Five-Layer Protection for Reliable Power

For factories and commercial facilities, power outages can halt equipment, disrupt production and prolong recovery. Reliable power for critical loads is essential to keeping operations running.

Sungrow’s Integrated C&I Microgrid Solution features an industry-first five-layer protection framework, with tailored control strategies for different levels of grid disturbance. It can withstand three times overload for 10 seconds and severe voltage disturbances, helping protect critical loads from supply disruptions. With seamless grid-to-off-grid switching with no interruption to loads and whole-site black-start capability in just 3 minutes, the solution helps ensure a reliable power supply and rapid recovery during grid disruptions.

Support Throughout the Project Lifecycle

From system design and deployment to long-term operation, Sungrow simplifies the entire project lifecycle with full-stack in-house technologies and global service support.

Simplified Design and Deployment: One-stop system design, plug-and-play installation and one-click cloud connection streamline the journey from planning to commissioning.Smarter Operations: Coordinated PV, storage, EV charging, microgrid control and cloud management enable flexible energy dispatch, unified cloud-based management and automatic fault alerts.Global Service Support: With more than 520 service locations, 24/7 technical support and global spare parts centers, Sungrow helps keep projects running reliably over the long term.

Real-World Applications: Powering Energy Independence

“Sungrow’s Integrated C&I Microgrid Solution has been deployed across multiple locations in Southeast Asia, addressing diverse energy challenges for businesses,” said Huang Wanfeng, director of the Smart Energy Products Department at Sungrow.

In the Solomon Islands, the Solomon Resort Hotel Microgrid enables reliable off-grid hotel operations while helping reduce annual CO₂ emissions by around 1,000 tonnes and fuel costs by an estimated USD 600,000–700,000. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, Sungrow’s microgrid solution helps address power supply challenges in industrial parks, reducing reliance on diesel generation.

With proven experience across diverse applications, Sungrow is committed to helping businesses across Southeast Asia build more reliable, cost-efficient and resilient energy systems.

Contact:
Luly Wang
luly.wang@sungrow-hq.com 

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SOURCE Sungrow Power

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