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Satellite funding scarce
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June 4, 2001: 7:34 a.m. ET
Lockheed, Hughes said to have trouble finding Internet service backers
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lockheed Martin Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp. are having trouble obtaining sponsors for projects that would provide Internet service via satellite, according to a published report Monday.
The lack of funding for Lockheed's (LMT: Research, Estimates) Astrolink International and Hughes's Spaceway, which could speed data transmission over the Internet 1,000 times faster than traditional phone lines, reflects a declining outlook for space ventures tied to the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hughes (GMH: Research, Estimates) is a separately traded unit of General Motors Corp.
(GM: Research, Estimates)
Lockheed has shrunk the size of its proposed satellite deployment, and both companies are thinking about putting off launches until the middle of the decade as investors -- wary of the dot.com shakeout -- are hesitant to put their money in a new Internet venture.
Seven other large satellite projects have been stymied in recent months, further delaying the possibility of Internet service through space. The lack of funding is badly impacting start-ups as well as established participants, Jean-Francois Gambart, a vice president in the space unit of France's Alcatel SA, told the Journal.
In addition to market jitters, investors also watched $15 billion spent on several lower-orbiting satellite projects vaporize as those efforts collapsed over the last few years.
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"It behooves the investment community to step back...and curb the industry's unbridled enthusiasm for satellite projects," Roger Trefall, managing director of Dreyfus Corp., said in the Journal.
Lockheed Martin shares gained 27 cents to $38.56 Friday. Hughes Electronics shares ended up 10 cents at $24. 
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