***Iridium Wins $219 Million Defense Deal
(April 2)
Iridium LLC received a boost when Motorola Inc. landed a $219
million contract to supply Iridium satellite phones, pagers,
accessories and phone service to the U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD).
The DoD awarded the three-year contract to Motorola's Worldwide
Information Network Services division, which is Iridium's service
provider to the U.S. government. The order is a direct result of
Iridium's invitation to the U.S. military to sit in on the design
of the global satellite system. Those talks resulted in the DoD
constructing its own dedicated Iridium gateway, rumored to have
cost taxpayers about $100 million.
The news should be a welcome relief for Iridium shareholders. At
the turn of the year, Iridium shares were at $40.75. They
increased to $43.25 by Jan. 11, but that was the 1999 high and on
Wednesday (3/31), the stock slumped to an all-time low of $15.12.
Wave Issue 9035 4/05/99 Article 1-02