Always On Call

First came cordless phones, which made it possible to take all those irritating calls while mowing the lawn or relaxing in the hammock. Before long, cellular phones eliminated the commuter's peace and quiet on the highway. Now, if Motorola has its way, being unreachable is going to be downright impossible.

The suburban Chicago electronics giant (1989 sales: $9.6 billion) hopes to put in place by 1996 a network of 77 satellites that can relay phone calls to any spot on the planet. That means when the boss has a question, no Himalayan mountaintop or African jungle encampment will be beyond the reach of the ringing phone. Named Iridium, for the chemical element whose nucleus is orbited by 77 electrons, the Motorola plan would constitute the first global cellular system. Calls would cost $1 to $3 a minute, compared with about 50 cents a minute for cellular calls within urban systems linked by radio towers. Potential users include traveling executives and mining engineers who work in remote locations.

While Motorola stands ready to supply the handsets (initial price: $3,500 apiece), the company will need investment partners to finance the estimated $2.3 billion cost of building and launching the network of 700-lb. satellites. The firm is negotiating a joint venture with British Telecom, as well as with potential investors in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. Motorola estimates that Iridium will need 700,000 users to become profitable. While that is roughly equivalent to the Pittsburgh white pages, it is less than 1% of the 100 million people around the world who are expected to be using cellular phones by the end of the decade.