The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International today announced that Iridium Communications Inc. has made a donation to support the organization’s Silent Key Scholarship Fund for the third year in a row.

Ted O’Brien, Iridium’s vice president and general manager of the Americas, presented a check for $5,000 at the APCO International 76th Annual Conference and Exhibition on Aug. 4, 2010. William Carrow, APCO International president elect, accepted the check on behalf of the association.

“The Silent Key Scholarship Fund, which we established to honor deceased APCO International members, provides funding for training and educational opportunities for public safety communications officials,” said Carrow. “Donating to the fund is making an investment in the future of public safety communications. We are grateful to Iridium for its generous gift to support this important cause.”

“Iridium made this third contribution as part of the company’s ‘Trade-Up to Iridium’ program, which we introduced in 2008 to give first responders and other users an easy upgrade path for trading in non-functioning satellite phones for new Iridium handsets,” Ted O’Brien said. “Last year, Iridium extended the program to include its new-generation Iridium 9555 handset.  To show our support for the public-safety communications community, we pledged to make a donation to the APCO International scholarship fund every time we received a traded-in phone.  It is not only gratifying that users are turning to the only reliable satellite phone in the industry through this program, but that public-safety communicators, in the end, are the beneficiaries.”

“Many of our members rely on satellite phones to provide mission-critical communications in responding to emergencies when landlines and wireless infrastructure are destroyed or disrupted,” said Carrow. “In many cases, satellite phones provide the only connection to the outside world during the first days of disaster response and relief operations. Iridium provides a mobile, reliable, and global communications lifeline to these first responders.”

Over the previous two years, Iridium has contributed $24,000 to APCO International. This year’s donation brings the total amount to $29,000.