Today’s News Flash from M2M Magazine included an interesting item about Iridium: it will be acquired by GHL Acquisition Corp. creating a new company named Iridium Communications Inc. Iridium says the deal will allow it to be debt free and positioned to pursue development of its next-generation satellite constellation, called Iridium NEXT.

From the press release:

“NEW YORK and BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ — GHL Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: GHQ) and Iridium Holdings LLC, a leading provider of voice and data mobile satellite services (”MSS”), today jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which they plan to combine. The proceeds of the transaction will enable Iridium to be debt free and well positioned to develop its next generation satellite constellation, “Iridium NEXT.” GHL Acquisition is the special purpose acquisition company sponsored by Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL), which raised approximately $400 million of gross proceeds earlier this year, and is approximately 17.5% owned by Greenhill & Co.”

BlueTree Wireless has announced the launch of two new cellular data modems: the HSPA (high-speed packet access) BT-5800 and the HSPA BT-6800 series.

From the M2M magazine story: “BlueTree says the BT-5800 is designed for mobile data applications, especially the public safety and public transportation markets. The modem offers support for both HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) and HSUPA (high-speed uplink packet access) protocols, plus it is backward compatible with GPRS/EDGE (general packet radio service/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) networks. Additional features include GPS (global positioning system) capability and improved processing”