Satellite phone network returns

The return of satellite phone service provider Iridium has been welcomed by New Zealand company Rocom Wireless, which supplied the service until Iridium went bankrupt.

The 72-satellite network, worth $US5.5 billion ($13.47 billion) will be relaunched on June 1.

Rocom, , the second-largest satellite phone service provider in Australasia, is re-activating existing Iridium phones free of charge.



French rower Jo Le Guen, forced to abandon his attempt to row solo across the Pacific from Wellington last April, was at one stage faced with losing his communications when the bankrupt Iridium threatened to de-orbit its satellite system.

The system saved his life when he became seriously ill and had to be rescued.

Privately held Iridium Satellite LLC bought more than $US5 billion worth of the old Iridium's assets - including the low-orbit satellite network - out of a New York bankruptcy court last December for $US25 million.

The deal staved off a fiery end to the spacecraft.

The old owners, led by electronics giant Motorola, had been planning to let them burn on re-entry into the atmosphere rather than pay the costs of keeping them aloft.

- NZPA