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starship-design: Fwd: Iridium Shutdown
In a message dated 3/20/00 10:47:54 AM, kgstarks@crnotes.collins.rockwell.com
writes:
>
>
>Ha, the Iridium global sat cellphone service is dead Jim. Service is
officially
>going to be terminated. No acceptable bider came forth to get it out of
>bankruptcy. So they are terminating service and are going to start
de-orbiting
>the sats.
>
>Pity. First to market, and died. Guess the competitors had a better angle.
> I
>heard that they were having tech screw-ups. The first few sats were DOA
>on
>orbit.
>
>Kelly
>
>
>http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000317/tc/telecoms_iridium_13.html
>
>
>Iridium Shutdown Set; No White Knight Emerges
>
> By Mark Weinraub
>
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iridium World Communications Ltd.
>has
> failed to attract a qualified, last-ditch offer to rescue
>it
>from liquidation
> and now will begin pulling its satellites out of orbit,
>letting
>billions of
> dollars worth of space-age communications gear burn up
>in the
> atmosphere.
>
> Iridium said in a statement it would cut off its commercial
>service at
> 11:59 p.m. (04:59 GMT) on Friday.
>
> ``No bid was received which was a qualified bid,'' Iridium attorney William
>Perlstein told the
> U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Friday afternoon.
>
> Perlstein told the court the company had been in discussions with three
>bidding
> groups
> through Thursday, but no deal could be reached that met its requirements.
>He
>did not
> identify the potential buyers.
>
> ``I am deeply saddened by this outcome,'' Iridium chief operating officer
>Randy
> Brouckman
> said in a statement. ``I particularly regret the impact this will have
>on our
>customers. Iridium
> achieved significant milestones, and I want to thank the more than 160
>countries that
> licensed the service.''
>
> The failure to find a buyer essentially marked the end of an ambitious,
>$5
>billion project to
> provide telephone service to any spot on the globe through a system of
>66
>low-earth-orbit
> satellites.
>
> ``There was no misunderstanding that this was it in the absence of a
qualified
>bid,'' Perlstein
> said.
>
> After what seemed a promising launch, Iridium fell into bankruptcy
protection
>in August
> 1999 as sales of its phones and service proved hugely disappointing. Critics
>said the service
> and equipment were too costly, the phones were too bulky and the service
>was
>too erratic.
>
> A $600 million plan by cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw to rescue the
>company
> fell
> apart earlier this month when McCaw and his investment group backed out
>of the
>deal.
>
> Following the pullout, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District
>of
>New York
> approved an 11-day, $3 million plan to fund operations while Iridium
conducted
>a last-ditch
> search for a buyer.
>
> On Friday, Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved a liquidation budget of $8.3
>million
>to cover
> expenses through April 30 as Iridium starts the process of bringing the
>satellites out of orbit
> and selling off the company's remaining assets.
>
> An attorney for telecommunications equipment maker Motorola Corp. (NYSE:MOT
>-
> news), which conceived of, built, and has been operating the satellites,
>told
>the court it
> would begin the de-orbiting plan in about a week.
>
> The plan, which will result in the satellites literally burning up as
>they are
>pulled from orbit,
> needs to be coordinated with several U.S. government agencies. Motorola
>said it
> would
> take about eight to nine months to bring all the satellites into lower
>orbit,
>and a total of about
> one to two years for them to burn up in the atmosphere.
>
> It will cost between $30 million and $50 million to bring the satellites
>down,
>Perlstein said.
>
> Motorola said in a statement it will maintain the system while the
de-orbiting
>plan was
> finalized. The company said it would work with subscribers to provide
>alternative
> communications.
>
> ``Motorola is extremely disappointed that Iridium LLC has not succeeded
>in its
>effort to
> emerge from voluntary bankruptcy,'' Motorola. ``Motorola and other Iridium
>investors have
> worked very hard to support Iridium LLC's efforts to reorganize and continue
>operating the
> business. Unfortunately, that has not happened.''
>
> Perlstein said a qualified bid for Iridium would have included a $10 million
>cash deposit, as
> well as funds to continue Iridium's operations and assume Motorola's
>responsibilities for the
> satellites.
>
> He added that the company had been in discussions with NASA for the U.S.
>space
>agency
> to take control of the satellites, but that Iridium had been informed
>shortly
>before the court
> hearing that the agency did not have the budget for such a plan.
>
> Motorola's shares closed down 1 11/16 at 149 5/16 on Friday on the New
>York
>Stock
> Exchange. The Schaumburg, Ill.,-based company has taken more than $2.0
>billion
>in
> charges related to Iridium.
---- Begin included message ----
Ha, the Iridium global sat cellphone service is dead Jim. Service is officially
going to be terminated. No acceptable bider came forth to get it out of
bankruptcy. So they are terminating service and are going to start de-orbiting
the sats.
Pity. First to market, and died. Guess the competitors had a better angle. I
heard that they were having tech screw-ups. The first few sats were DOA on
orbit.
Kelly
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000317/tc/telecoms_iridium_13.html
Iridium Shutdown Set; No White Knight Emerges
By Mark Weinraub
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iridium World Communications Ltd. has
failed to attract a qualified, last-ditch offer to rescue it
from liquidation
and now will begin pulling its satellites out of orbit, letting
billions of
dollars worth of space-age communications gear burn up in the
atmosphere.
Iridium said in a statement it would cut off its commercial
service at
11:59 p.m. (04:59 GMT) on Friday.
``No bid was received which was a qualified bid,'' Iridium attorney William
Perlstein told the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Friday afternoon.
Perlstein told the court the company had been in discussions with three bidding
groups
through Thursday, but no deal could be reached that met its requirements. He
did not
identify the potential buyers.
``I am deeply saddened by this outcome,'' Iridium chief operating officer Randy
Brouckman
said in a statement. ``I particularly regret the impact this will have on our
customers. Iridium
achieved significant milestones, and I want to thank the more than 160
countries that
licensed the service.''
The failure to find a buyer essentially marked the end of an ambitious, $5
billion project to
provide telephone service to any spot on the globe through a system of 66
low-earth-orbit
satellites.
``There was no misunderstanding that this was it in the absence of a qualified
bid,'' Perlstein
said.
After what seemed a promising launch, Iridium fell into bankruptcy protection
in August
1999 as sales of its phones and service proved hugely disappointing. Critics
said the service
and equipment were too costly, the phones were too bulky and the service was
too erratic.
A $600 million plan by cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw to rescue the company
fell
apart earlier this month when McCaw and his investment group backed out of the
deal.
Following the pullout, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
New York
approved an 11-day, $3 million plan to fund operations while Iridium conducted
a last-ditch
search for a buyer.
On Friday, Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved a liquidation budget of $8.3 million
to cover
expenses through April 30 as Iridium starts the process of bringing the
satellites out of orbit
and selling off the company's remaining assets.
An attorney for telecommunications equipment maker Motorola Corp. (NYSE:MOT -
news), which conceived of, built, and has been operating the satellites, told
the court it
would begin the de-orbiting plan in about a week.
The plan, which will result in the satellites literally burning up as they are
pulled from orbit,
needs to be coordinated with several U.S. government agencies. Motorola said it
would
take about eight to nine months to bring all the satellites into lower orbit,
and a total of about
one to two years for them to burn up in the atmosphere.
It will cost between $30 million and $50 million to bring the satellites down,
Perlstein said.
Motorola said in a statement it will maintain the system while the de-orbiting
plan was
finalized. The company said it would work with subscribers to provide
alternative
communications.
``Motorola is extremely disappointed that Iridium LLC has not succeeded in its
effort to
emerge from voluntary bankruptcy,'' Motorola. ``Motorola and other Iridium
investors have
worked very hard to support Iridium LLC's efforts to reorganize and continue
operating the
business. Unfortunately, that has not happened.''
Perlstein said a qualified bid for Iridium would have included a $10 million
cash deposit, as
well as funds to continue Iridium's operations and assume Motorola's
responsibilities for the
satellites.
He added that the company had been in discussions with NASA for the U.S. space
agency
to take control of the satellites, but that Iridium had been informed shortly
before the court
hearing that the agency did not have the budget for such a plan.
Motorola's shares closed down 1 11/16 at 149 5/16 on Friday on the New York
Stock
Exchange. The Schaumburg, Ill.,-based company has taken more than $2.0 billion
in
charges related to Iridium.
---- End included message ----