FCC Rules Aid Global Satellite Phone Firms

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules designed to help global satellite phone companies get the international regulatory approvals they need to do business worldwide. Companies such as Iridium Inc., Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. and Teledesic Corp. are building global satellite communications networks to allow customers to make international phone calls from the most remote regions of the globe. Satellite phone manufacturers such as Motorola Corp. increasingly need to get their products to market quickly, said FCC Chairman William Kennard. “This makes it simpler for them to do that,” he said. Already, dozens of countries, including Japan and some in the European Union, have agreements allowing satellite telephones that have obtained technical certifications in one country to automatically be approved in the other country. The rules the FCC approved are a first step in confirming those agreements, which allow a company to get clearance for its equipment without having to seek approval country by country. Iridium began offering its global service in November. Globalstar will begin its service in the third quarter of 1999, and Teledesic is planning a 2002 launch.