StarBand Pulls IPO

StarBand Communications Inc. said Friday that it has pulled plans for an
initial public offering for the broadband-via-satellite company. The
registration statement had been filed in October.

The company is 'exploring all viable capitalization options,' StarBand
spokeswoman Sandy Colony said. 'We would certainly consider refiling' the IPO
registration statement, she added.

StarBand has enough funding in place 'to move forward with our current
business plans,' Colony said, although she would not say how long the current
funding was expected to last. Current investors in the company include Gilat
Satellite Networks Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and EchoStar Communications Corp.

The first two-way satellite-broadband systems for consumer use began shipping
last year. In addition to the stand-alone StarBand system, many EchoStar dealers
sell a combination StarBand broadband and Dish Network satellite-television
system.

Because the company has been in a quiet period in anticipation of the
now-withdrawn IPO, StarBand had not released details on early sales
figures.