When Brian Barnett founded Satwest LLC in July 1999, the mobile satellite communications industry appeared to be on the verge of expansive growth. Investors were pouring billions of dollars into Iridium SSC, Globalstar L.P., ICO Global Communications and Teledesic, companies that promised consumers the ability to communicate anywhere in the world. Satwest was established to sell the products and services people would need to take advantage of the new capabilities offered by the new satellite constellations, including machine-to-machine, voice and Internet-based communications.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...