TerraStar Sat Phone Service Provides Files Chapter 11
Just recently, the Genus satellite phone handset went on sale at AT&T, but the pricing (for both phone and service) was way, way above what most any general customer would be willing to pay. TerraStar probably knew this was a niche service reserved for only a few who travel to remote regions, but now the company and a dozen affiliates have sought protection from creditors.
Currently, the copany has $1.4b in assets and $1.64b in liabilities (as of June 30, anyway), and Chief Executive Jeffrey Epstein was quoted as saying that "filing chapter 11 was a necessary and prudent step to strengthen our balance sheet and gain financial flexibility in order to access liquidity and position TerreStar Networks as a stronger, healthier company."
It's unclear what the future holds for TerraStar and for consumer-level sat phone operations. Pricing will obviously have to come down somewhat for it to become more of a mass-market thing, but that's unlikely given the high cost of building and launching a satellite into space. Best of luck, TerraStar, we need all the communication options we can get.