When iridium started, cell coverage was just about nonexistent. In the time it took to go from idea to launched satellite networks, cellular expanded so much th

When iridium started, cell coverage was just about nonexistent. In the time it took to go from idea to launched satellite networks, cellular expanded so much that the opportunity vanished. If they had gotten things running just a few years earlier, it may have had a chance. Probably not a great one, given the slowness of iteration cycles of satellites vs terrestrial.