ICO Global Communications, the would-be global mobile satellite operator, began the new year still stalled in Chapter 11 bankruptcy while awaiting its potential saviours Craig McCaw (Teledesic) and Subhash Chandra (ASC) to develop their own plans – separately or in unison – for using the ICO system to their best advantage. So far no firm news has emerged, beyond a tentative statement from ICO that it now may emerge from bankruptcy as early as April.

The company is still on track to launch its first Hughes-built satellite (now that the manufacturer has been paid) in February. It will use the Boeing-led Sea Launch vehicle, a Zenit SL-3 made by Yhuznoye. The ICO-1 satellite will presumably be unaltered from its original configuration: the basic (voice) data rate of 9.6 kbps can reportedly be cranked up to 38.4 kbps (for mobile data applications) by modifying the Satellite Access Node ground stations alone.

Meanwhile, the other global mobile operator Iridium, also still in Chapter 11 but with a satellite constellation already in being, is busy spending money it doesn’t have to keep the system functioning. According to statements filed in late December, Iridium spent $15 million in November on operating the system, while reorganisation expenses were only just over $1 million. At this rate, the $20 million advanced as a loan in December by Motorola (Iridium’s prime contractor) to keep the system in being to February 15 will be largely spent well before that date. But until mid-February, Motorola is apparently providing this assistance without seeking repayment. Beyond February 15, Motorola is reported to be cutting its charges from $550 million/year to merely $100 million. The objective seems to be to keep the system functioning for as long as its takes Craig McCaw or someone else to express a firm intention to acquire it.