Intelsat with dozens of satellites strung around the equator has lost 2 to major malfunctions in the past couple of weeks. Not to be confused with InMarSat which has 5 sats in fixed orbit. Traffic is being rerouted onto InMarSat birds. Some areas of the Pacific are still without phone service. For passagemaking purposes it is worthwhile to know what is going on in satellite communications. Mike Capt. Mike Maurice Tualatin(Portland), Oregon