Iridium Satellite Re-Launches Commercial Service.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Iridium Satellite LLC - new name - Brief Article - Company Profile

Iridium Satellite executives said that they have learned their lesson. Iridium, a company that made headlines in 1999 with its spectacular stock collapse and subsequent bankruptcy, has emerged again under the name Iridium Satellite LLC.

Lauding Iridium's new cost structure, which will be one-tenth of the first Iridium, new chairman and CEO Dan Colussy said, "Once again, Iridium is the only provider of truly global, truly mobile satellite communications services." Colussy said that Iridium Satellite LLC is currently used by the Defense Department under a multi-year contract, with 20,000 mobile telephone units. To be profitable, Colussy said that only 40,000 additional non-government users are needed. The new phones, which retail at $1,000-$1,500, have airtime rates of $1.50 per minute. The previous...