Iridium Kyocera Phones Still Experiencing Problems, CEO Says
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Iridium Kyocera Phones Still Experiencing Problems, CEO Says
New York, March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Iridium LLC, provider of the
world's first satellite-based global-telephone network, said it's still
having technical problems with Kyocera Corp.'s phones.
Last month, the company announced that it had approved
Kyocera's satellite phones for commercial use and would begin
distribution. ''Kyocera phone's have not yet hit the marketplace for
distribution,'' said Iridium vice chairman and chief executive
Edward Staiano, speaking at the Fourth Annual Bloomberg
Telecom Day in New York City. Staino said the company found a
last minute problem with the Kyocera phones. ''We're back now to
fixing the problems,'' he said. There's a backlog order of 12,000 to
15,000 Kyocera phones, he said.
Iridium said Monday it expects to fall short of first- quarter
subscriber and revenue targets and that it will have to modify its
credit agreement.
Iridium blamed the shortfall on distribution problems such as
shortages of phones and pagers, and a sales effort hampered by a
lack of trained staff. The Washington-based company said it hasn't
yet met with its bankers about its failure to meet its financial
targets.
Iridium's share's fell 1 3/16 to 20 3/8 in late morning trading.
NYSE/AMEX delayed 20 min. NASDAQ delayed 15 min.
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