A US Court of Appeals in Washington has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its 1989 decision to award the only satellite-based mobile communications licence to offer services to trucking companies, railways and others that need to keep in touch or keep track of moving vehicles, to the American Mobile Satellite Corp consortium: it said the FCC was wrong not to consider other applications, to demand a $5m cash deposit from each applicant, and to insist that consortia be formed; the decision puts a question mark over American Mobile Satellite, which is now owned by eight companies, has already bought its bird for $100m from Hughes Aircraft Corp and booked a launch for it in 1994.
