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To: djane who wrote (4505)9/10/1998 1:18:00 AM
From: djane  Respond to of 10852
 
NY Times. Iridium Delays Full Start of Global System

September 10, 1998

By REUTERS

ASHINGTON -- After 11 years of design, development and
implementation, Iridium LLC announced Wednesday that its
global communications system would be introduced to a limited
number of subscribers worldwide beginning Sept. 23, with full
commercial service delayed until Nov. 1.

The company, a spinoff of Motorola Inc.,
originally planned to begin charging
customers for wireless services including
paging and messaging on Sept. 23. Instead,
2,000 handsets will be distributed to
customers in a controlled service roll-out
intended to refine system performance and quality.

Altogether, Iridium has orbited 79 satellites aboard 17 launching
vehicles in 16 months, completing the most ambitious launching
program in history and orbiting the world's largest satellite network.

Customers will be able to use a single cellular number in Iridium
partners' territories in 122 countries once the system is in full
operation, Iridium said.

The system will combine the worldwide reach of 66 low-earth orbit
satellites with land-based wireless systems to enable customers to
communicate using hand-held telephones and pagers.

Iridium telephones are being manufactured by Motorola and the
Kyocera Corporation of Japan, with 1998 volumes to reach more
than 100,000.

Kyocera is behind schedule on equipment manufacture because of
software development delays, the company said.

More than 295 distribution agreements have been negotiated with
service providers and roaming partners serving more than 100 million
subscribers.

Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company




To: djane who wrote (4505)9/10/1998 1:49:00 AM
From: djane  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 10852
 
** WashPost. Iridium Delays Start of Global Network

By Mike Mills
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 10, 1998; Page C03

Iridium LLC announced yesterday that it is delaying the launch of its global
wireless satellite telephone and data service until at least Nov. 1 from the
initial Sept. 23 date, as the company works out technical and marketing
kinks.

"We have come too far and have invested too much time, money and effort
in this business to go into commercial service with anything less than a
world-class product," said Edward Staiano, chief executive of
District-based Iridium.

Rather than begin selling service commercially, Iridium on Sept. 23 will
deliver telephone handsets to 2,000 individual, corporate and government
customers on a free trial basis.

Analysts generally expected the delay. The announcement had little affect
on Iridium shares, which closed yesterday at $34.50, up 12 1/2 cents a
share in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

"The delay announcement is no big deal and not a big surprise," said Ann
Henry, an analyst for BancBoston Robertson Stephens Inc. in New York.
Iridium had hinted at such a delay in a July conference call to analysts, she
said.

Iridium is the most ambitious telecommunications satellite network to date,
with 17 launches sending 79 satellites into orbit. The system requires 66
satellites to operate and uses several as spares. Iridium has lost five
satellites as a result of in-orbit malfunctions.

"We're one month beyond where we had said we were going to be" after
11 years of planning, constructing and launching the 66-satellite network,
Staiano added. "I don't think that's too bad for a program of this
magnitude."

The basic elements of the Iridium network are working properly, Staiano
said. The satellites can communicate with one another and with 12
earth-station "gateways" connecting users to the system. The software that
runs the system is in place, and only a few bugs remain.

But analysts said they had anticipated better progress in the rate of calls
completed on the system. In July Staiano had said 70 percent of calls
would go through; yesterday he pegged the call-completion rate in the
"high 70 percent" range.


"We've made tens of thousands of test calls, and we'll make more in next
two weeks," he said. "But it is not enough. We need to make hundreds of
thousands of calls."

Iridium's biggest challenge, Staiano said, has been to coordinate operations
among its network of 66 satellites, its ground control center near Leesburg
and its gateways in locations around the world. A thunderstorm in Phoenix,
or an unexpected power surge in India, for example, have sent the system
into turmoil, he said.

"We've had a lot of cockpit problems in the operations and control area.
We're not yet in a fully stable state," Staiano said. "This has been extremely
demanding on all of our operational folks. It's a lot different actually driving
a car than reading a book about driving a car."

Marketing and sales operations also have remaining glitches
, he said. "We
are not satisfied yet with our ability to respond to customers and are
working very hard to improve that activity," he said, adding that Iridium has
about 40,000 sales leads.

The service also has been disrupted by the most mundane nontechnical
details. Iridium phones in some countries got waylaid at various customs
offices, for example, as border guards investigated whether the devices
should be allowed in.

The global financial crisis, particularly in Russia and Asia, would not
adversely affect Iridium's business, Staiano predicted. To the contrary, he
said, a slowdown in construction of land-based cellular systems would only
enhance the need for Iridium phones, he speculated.
[This is a positive for GSTRF as well.]

Motorola Inc., which is manufacturing the phones for use with Iridium's
system, plans to charge $2,795 for its phone in the United States, with
in-country phone rates starting at $1.79 a minute.
The company plans to
ship 100,000 phones to retailers worldwide by year's end.

Kyocera Corp., which also is making Iridium phones, is a month behind in
delivering its handsets and has some bugs to work out
, Staiano said. He
added, however, that Kyocera phones should be available by the
November commercial service date.

Iridium has licenses to serve 100 countries, representing three-fourths of its
business plan, Staiano said. It also has agreements with 85 public
telephone companies to allow Iridium users to call and receive calls from
those countries. But Iridium still lacks operating licenses in several targeted
countries, including France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Belarus.

c Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company