Newsgroup: it.tlc.cellulari
Titolo: fallimento telefonia satellitare

dopo la bancarotta di Iridium le autorità giudiziarie americane
dichiarano la bancarotta del secondo gestore di telefonia satellitare.
Mike
     NEW YORK--ICO Global Communications, which is building a satellite
     communications network, filed for bankruptcy today, becoming the
latest
     casualty in the nascent satellite phone industry.
     ICO filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in
     Delaware, according to court documents. ICO's move follows by just
two weeks the
     bankruptcy filing of rival Iridium World Communications.
                            ICO aims to provide global phone service
through a
                            network of 12 satellites to be sent into
orbit by the end
                            of next year. Its rivals include Iridium,
which is backed
                            by Motorola and others, and Globalstar, an
international
                            group led by Loral Space & Communications.
                            Rival Iridium filed bankruptcy on August 13
after
                            suffering from debt woes,
slower-than-expected
                            subscriber growth, marketing and
distribution missteps,
                            and technical problems with its telephone
handsets.
                            Iridium plans to continue operating during
its bankruptcy
                            proceeding.
                            The satellite phone companies aim to use
networks of
                            satellites orbiting hundreds of miles
overhead to provide
                            wireless phone service, anytime and
anywhere. But the
     market for the costly services, which require customers to carry
cumbersome
     handsets, is uncertain, analysts said.
     Trading in ICO's stock was halted today on Nasdaq after the market
requested
     additional information. Its shares were trading at $3.63, down 62.5
cents, before being
     halted.
     In a statement, ICO chief executive Richard Greco said, "Our
Chapter 11 filing should
     provide ICO with the extra time needed to reorganize, recapitalize,
and complete our
     financing. We believe that our actions will be successful and that
ICO will emerge as a
     very effective competitor in providing global mobile satellite
telephone services."
     ICO two weeks ago said it failed to secure $600 million in
financing commitments and
     was seeking revised financing options. ICO's fund-raising efforts
have been hampered,
     in part, by Iridium's woes, analysts said.
     ICO previously said it would need more than $1 billion to launch
its satellite phone
     system by the fourth quarter of 2000. Those funds would add to the
$3.1 billion the
     company already has received from investors.
     ICO also ran into resistance from bondholders over its efforts from
raise funds through
     strategic investors, analysts said.
     U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath scheduled a hearing at 5 p.m. ET
today to
     consider motions to allow ICO to carry on with normal business
operations during the
     bankruptcy proceedings.
     Hughes Electronics, which owns a 4 percent stake in ICO, said it
was aware that
     London-based ICO filed for bankruptcy, but it declined further
comment.
     Hughes, an ICO investor and its prime contractor, previously said
it potentially would
     face exposure of about $500 million, before taxes, if ICO was
liquidated.
     Shares of Hughes gained $1.19 to $52.63 on the New York Stock
Exchange. Investors
     viewed the ICO bankruptcy filing as a sign that Hughes would not be
pressured to bail
     out ICO on its own, analysts said.
     ICO's largest unsecured creditors include Bank of New York, Japan's
NEC, Hughes
     and KPN Telecom BV of the Netherlands, according to the filing.
     Story Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

      ICO filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in the U.S.
occhio che la bancarotta secondo il capitolo 11 e' diversa rispetto
al fallimento della legge italiana, infatti Iridium continua ad operare
ciao
-- 
mail to: 
gm...@interbusiness.it
nessuno studio puo' dimostrare con assoluta certezza la mancanza di
effetti
per qualsivoglia materiale, tecnologia o alimento.

 al fallimento della legge italiana, infatti Iridium continua ad operare
si ok, ma anche in Italia esiste una cosa del genere, la gestione
controllata, in seguito al fallimento.
Mike