Iridium

GENEVA-Globalstar officially announced at Telecom ’99 a phased launch of its mobile satellite service. The phased launch begins with user trials, followed by a soft launch that will allow the …

WASHINGTON-With only eight months before the World Radiocommunication Conference in Turkey, U.S. spectrum policy for third-generation wireless systems is on the verge of meltdown as the Clinton administration and industry …

While the bankruptcies of Iridium L.L.C. and ICO Global Communications have cast doubt on the mobile satellite services market, fixed satellite services provider Teledesic L.L.C. believes it may find a …

WASHINGTON-Amid rumors of congressional fatigue with the thought of reforming the Federal Communications Commission, the agency’s chairman last week said reform efforts are going forward. “This effort is real. It …

Trunking The radio trunking handset base registered growth of 200 percent from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999, reaching 12,000 in the 25 cities where public mobile radio trunked …

Talk about mega-mergers! Vodafone AirTouch secluded in talks with Bell Atlantic. BT and AT&T pushing back the boundaries of their courtship. All quoting figures of thousands of dollars per subscriber …

DUBLIN, Ireland-There has been much debate over the future of satellite-based communications. Indeed, regular readers of the financial press might wonder if it has any future in the new millennium …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Iridium L.L.C.’s recent financial restructuring and voluntary bankruptcy filing are not expected to have a financial impact on Iridium Africa, said Iridium Africa’s chief operating officer, Thomas Alabakis. …

Besieged by doubts over the very existence of a market for satellite-based voice services, low-earth-orbit carriers are starving for some kind of positive development to feed investors and customers alike. …

The second mobile satellite company in less than a month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a U.S. court at the end of August. ICO Global Communications Holdings and three …

The mobile satellite industry is now under extreme pressure to justify itself. With Iridium’s and ICO’s bankruptcy filings last month, Globalstar is suddenly on the hot seat as industry defender-whether …

Everywhere you look it seems wireless companies are declaring bankruptcy. Iridium, NextWave and Metro PCS all are trying to beat their way through the complex jungle of Chapter 11 bankruptcy …

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report filed last week, the recently bankrupt Iridium L.L.C. said it proposed offering bondholders and other creditors an equity stake in the …

After defaulting on both its $800 million senior secured credit facility and its $750 million guaranteed credit facility last week, Iridium L.L.C. filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Iridium …

Financial analysts continued their wait-and-see attitude toward Paging Network Inc. as the company released second-quarter earnings. In contrast, Arch Communications Group Inc. completed its merger with MobileMedia Corp. in the …

One of Iridium L.L.C.’s main lenders, Chase Manhattan Bank, has asked Iridium to demand that Motorola Inc. provide a guarantee of $300 million under Iridium’s $800 million secured credit facility. …

MONTREAL-BCE Mobile Communications Inc., whose subsidiaries operate under the Bell Mobility name, reported a net loss of $49.9 million for the second quarter ended June 30. The company attributed the …

FORT WORTH, Texas-Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems and AlliedSignal said they entered into a cooperative agreement to test the effectiveness of using a two-way communications system-based on Iridium L.L.C.’s satellite …

NEW YORK-Happy days are here again for Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., which announced second-quarter earnings late July 13 of $273 million, or 44 cents per share. The gains are three …

During its second-quarter earnings conference call, Motorola executives said Iridium L.L.C. could face liquidation if it fails to bring in the revenues and subscribers originally planned. At the same time, …

NEW YORK-Motorola Credit Corp. has sold $500 million of euro-denominated bonds paying 6.75 percent interest in order to raise capital for lending money to purchasers of wireless equipment from its …

United Kingdom British Telecommunications plc said it will buy Control Data Systems Inc., a software company based in Arden Hills, Minn., for $340 million. The purchase will expand British Telecom’s …

What should have been a blow to the U.S. mobile satellite services industry is turning more into a tap on the shoulder as MSS companies conduct business as usual despite …

It stands to reason that if you know how to make mobile phones work, you can shut them down-say, like at gas stations or in airplanes, theaters and hospitals. That’s …

Iridium L.L.C. announced the deadline for meeting certain customer and revenue thresholds, under the financial covenants of its $800 million senior secured credit facility, has been extended to Aug. 11. …