For more than six months the mobile satellite industry has been trying to polish its image after the well-publicized failure of Iridium L.L.C. tarnished the reputation of all those involved in the industry.While Iridium shuffled in and out of bankruptcy court and deliberated with...
Shooting yourself in the foot is not to be recommended. But it seems to happen regularly within the mobile industry. The self-inflicted injury is almost always the result of a disconnect between the capabilities of a technology and the marketing of that technology.Sometimes the...
NEW YORK-Motorola Inc. said it is finishing a schedule to de-orbit Iridium L.L.C.'s 66-satellite constellation after the satellite company failed to find a buyer after months of searching.A scheduled bankruptcy court hearing last week to discuss possible takeover bids for Iridium was canceled after...
Just two months ago, Castle Harlan Inc. stepped in and granted Iridium L.L.C. a stay of execution, offering to purchase the fledgling company for $50 million. Iridium's bubble burst, however, when late last month the same bank withdrew its offer, setting in motion once...
LONDON-Amid the flickering satellite communications business, Craig McCaw's ICO-Teledesic Global Ltd. appears to be shining bright after receiving more than $1 billion in investor financing led by McCaw's Eagle River Investments L.L.C., Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates' Cascade...
WASHINGTON-The shift of satellite export jurisdiction from the Commerce Department to the State Department, and the resulting loss of U.S. business, has triggered a legislative backlash that could return oversight to Commerce.The fallout from GOP-led legislation in 1998 to transfer satellite export jurisdiction from...
Chase Manhattan Bank filed papers in the U.S. District Court in Delaware June 9 alleging 17 members of Iridium L.L.C. have not met any reserve capital call obligations that secure the $800 million loan Chase made to the now-bankrupt satellite company's subsidiary, Iridium Operating...
Castle Harlan Inc., a New York City-based merchant bank, pulled away from its fellow contenders last week in the race to save Iridium L.L.C. when Iridium filed a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to gain approval...
A group of satellite technology experts, military officials and debt and operational restructuring professionals have submitted a proposal to acquire the assets of Iridium L.L.C. for $61 million, but according to Iridium, their bid is just another in a series of offers that have...
As Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. faces a funding gap, a proposed merger between two emerging satellite operators adds yet another twist in the short history of the mobile satellite industry.Globalstar recently revealed its funds could run dry by the fourth quarter, but the company said...
NEW YORK-SkyBridge L.P. is building a network and a business model designed to sidestep the negatives associated with other land and space alternatives for local loop broadband communications delivery.The Bethesda, Md., company expects to launch commercial service covering temperate latitudes sometime during 2003, at...
The GOP-led Congress thought it had the answer. Responding with indignant outrage to alleged technology transfers from U.S. satellite firms to China and Russia in recent years, Republicans passed legislation that shifted high-tech export oversight from the Commerce Department back to the State Department...
WASHINGTON-According to a letter filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, London-based Constellation 2000 Group has offered to pay $250,000 for a 40-day option to purchase Iridium L.L.C.'s satellite communications assets for $75 million, Dow Jones reported.According to the letter, liquidating Iridium's assets could raise...
CHESTERFIELD, Mo.-Referring to the failure of Iridium L.L.C.'s satellite phone service and the continued growth of OmniTracs' Internet-based satellite tracking service, a report by Datacom Research Co. and Farrar & Associates concludes that the Internet, rather than telephone applications, is the future for satellite...
RESTON, Va.-American Mobile Satellite Corp. is offering an "instant rebate" promotion on its Skycell services to the 55,000 former customers of Iridium L.L.C.The promotion, which expires on June 13, offers customers up to $400 on Skycell activation fees and listed equipment.
Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) is an American beauty.Gephardt, captivated with the rise of Clinton-Gore and hungry to become the next House speaker, apparently has decided that nice, button-down politicians come in last. As such, Gephardt has embraced the Third Way. He has shed his...
It's only been two weeks since Iridium L.L.C. shut off its network in disgrace, and already Globalstar L.P. is feeling the skepticism analysts and the media have heaped upon it as a result.The company's stock, which has fallen 75 percent so far this year,...
More mobile satellite service providers and distributors have developed promotional offers aimed at former Iridium L.L.C. subscribers now left without service after the company terminated service abruptly two weeks ago.American Mobile Satellite Corp. launched its "Instant Rebate" promotion offering up to $400 off its...
WASHINGTON-Motorola Inc. said it will maintain some service to the Iridium satellite system for a limited period of time to allow subscribers in remote regions time to obtain alternative communications.The company did not give a specific time limit. To continue service, though, Iridium L.L.C....
When launched in November 1998, Iridium L.L.C. hoped the glare from its low-earth-orbit satellites would catch the attention of earthbound eyes and cause a stir.It soon will succeed in ways it never imagined.The company Friday shut down its 66-satellite constellation and began the process...
Having finally gotten back on track financially, ICO Global Communications hit another stumbling block last weekend when the launch of its first satellite placed the payload in the Pacific Ocean, rather than in low earth orbit as intended.The launch took place March 12 aboard...
After spending 10 years and $5.8 billion building and launching a constellation of 66 low-earth-orbit satellites to provide mobile voice and paging services worldwide, Iridium L.L.C. is facing a new countdown-toward extinction.If the company doesn't find someone to replace Craig McCaw as its financial...
Craig McCaw's Eagle River Investments L.L.C. announced it will not invest in Iridium L.L.C., forcing Iridium to look elsewhere for financial backing to pull it out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.Eagle River said it will instead focus its satellite communications investments on bailing out...
DENVER, United States-Globalstar USA became the latest Globalstar L.P. partner to launch full commercial service, completing the company's North American coverage for its mobile satellite phone service, perhaps Globalstar's most important service region.Globalstar USA launched at the same time as Globalstar Canada, while Globalstar...
