Inmarsat is considering legislative alternatives in the event the...
Inmarsat is considering legislative alternatives in the event the FCC rules unfavorably on its ORBIT Act compliance, said CEO Andrew Sukawaty. The company asked the FCC to determine that its ownership by private equity firms and its offering of…
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debt securities are compliant with the ORBIT Act. Sukawaty said he had no indication of the FCC’s progress on the filing except that it’s still under consideration. He didn’t describe the legislative options or other alternatives he said the company was pursuing. Satellite industry officials said Inmarsat could either pursue further extension of its IPO deadline to June 30, 2005, or it could lobby Congress to completely remove the IPO requirement. Previously Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R- Mont.) said he “always had serious reservations” about mandating an IPO deadline but there hasn’t been time to consider eliminating the IPO requirement from the ORBIT Act (CD April 13 p8). Sukawaty said only 0.5% of the company’s revenue (associated with U.S. terminals for land-based services) would be impacted if the company were found not compliant with the Act: “The immediate impact is fairly minimal, but we want to be licensed for land-based services in the U.S… We believe we've met the letter and intent of the Act.”