Since revamping its operations five years ago following the bankruptcy of its predecessor (see "Iridium Refocuses on B2B"), the new Iridium Satellite LLC has positioned itself as a business and government satellite communications provider for fail-safe communications.

The original Iridium LLC was about to decommission its satellite network in 2001 when it was purchased by a consortium of buyers for $25 million. The satellite system cost $5 billion when it was built in 1998 by Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola Inc. and others.