- - - Motorola Optimistic About Iridium - - -

Motorola, the US communications and semiconductor group, gave an optimistic briefing on Iridium Tuesday.

Iridium, the ailing global satellite phone company, has had trouble generating subscribers. Last month Iridium has to extend for a third time the deadline to meet the terms of its $800-million loan. The company's next debt repayment deadline is Aug. 11.

But this week officials from Motorola, Iridium's biggest investor, said they have held talks in the last two weeks with Iridium and are optimistic the company could restructure and survive. "We have had good constructive discussions," said Motorola President and CEO Robert Growney.

Chase Manhattan, however, is less optimistic. Iridium said Wednesday that Chase is trying to reinforce its negotiating position by claiming default on the loan. Chase also claims that Iridium is required to demand that Motorola provide a $300-million guarantee to back up the debt. Iridium and Motorola deny Chase's assertions, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Armand Musey, an analyst with Banc of America Securities, said Chase is turning up the heat because it wants to protect the hundreds of millions of dollars lent to Iridium. Musey has a "hold" rating on Iridium stock, which has tumbled almost 85% over the past year.

- - - Pegasus Releases July Subscriber Numbers - - -

Pegasus Communications added 25,746 net new DBS subscribers last month, pushing the total number of Pegasus subscribers up to 565,789.

Pegasus Satellite Television is the largest independent provider of DirecTV in areas operated by the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. Pegasus Communications also operates 10 rural television stations and a cable system in Puerto Rico.

According to Pegasus' July subscriber statistics, the company added 37,448 gross subscribers last month. Pegasus stands to gain just under 37,500 more subscribers as a result of pending acquisitions, making the company's pro forma DBS subscribers for July 579,649.

- - - Analysts Rate American Mobile Satellite - - -

The investment banking and brokerage firm Soundview Technology Group initiated coverage Wednesday of American Mobile Satellite Corporation (NASDAQ: SKYC).

Soundview analyst Tom O'Neil said the firm gave American Mobile a "Buy" rating and a year end target of $32 a share. "The company has successfully repositioned itself as a leader in the potentially explosive market of wireless data," he said.

On Tuesday American Mobile Satellite, a business that integrates terrestrial and satellite components to provide nationwide data services, announced that it raised $125 million in its recent initial public stock offering. The company reported that the entire seven million share offering had been sold.

American Mobile's President and CEO Walter Purnell Jr. said, "With more than 90 percent of the offering placed with large, well-known institutional investors, we are convinced that the American Mobile vision of the wireless future is solid and viable."

American Mobile stock closed at $17.75 Wednesday, down $1.56 from the previous day. Its 52-week high was $23.50.

- - - FCC Authorizes New Comsat Earth Stations - - -

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Comsat General Corporation the authority to construct and operate two new earth stations in Florida.

The earth stations will be in Cape Canaveral and Jupiter. They will be used in conjunction with the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT), which uses a global satellite system to provide television, telephone and data distribution services around the world.

According to information filed by Comsat with the FCC, the Florida earth stations will be "used in conjunction with INTELSAT satellites in the Atlantic Ocean Region as an integral part of an international private digital network supporting the U.S. Range Safety Administration's launch and missile tracking operations."

- - - Crackdown Costing U.S. Satellite Makers - - -

American satellite manufacturers are losing millions of dollars in sales as a result of tighter export controls imposed amid souring U.S.-China relations, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

At a Hughes Electronics assembly plant, for instance, a satellite intended to link cellular phone systems across Asia sits unfinished, a casualty of the deteriorating relations. The project has meant a $450 million loss for Hughes.

According to the Satellite Industry Association, losses such as this one could grow to more than $8 billion industry-wide over the next five years if the government bans satellite sales to China.

- - - INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Motorola In China - - -

• Motorola Wins $370 Million Contract In China -
  Motorola has been awarded a $370 million contract to provide digital cellular infrastructure equipment to China. The global system for mobile communications will be used in cellular networks operated by China Telecom and China Unicom. The two operators are planning to expand networks in a number of provinces including Sichuan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang and Shandong.

• Arianespace Delays Launch -
  Arianespace, the European aerospace alliance, delayed the launch of the Ariane 4-V118 satellite that was planned for Tuesday night because engineers preparing another Ariane 4 third stage cryogenic engine in Europe discovered an electrical anomaly in the rocket. The unit was identical to the third stage engine system mounted aboard the V-118 vehicle now in final launch preparations in Kourou, French Guiana. French space officials announced that the united would be replaced "as a precaution." A new launch date will be announced as soon as the new electrical equipment has been installed.