The `undertaking' will provide comfort to the Indian subscribers as they will not be saddled with expensive hand-sets in case IITL pulls down its shutters.

The company has managed to sell about 225 handsets in the country till date. "The handset, Motorola 9500, is priced in the region of Rs 99,000 to Rs 1,79,000 (plus a sales tax of 9.8 per cent) depending on which of the three air-time packages (Silver, Gold or Platinum) a subscriber opts for," sources said, adding that the buy-back price is yet to be finalised.

IITL had slashed the handset to fixed receiver call charge from Rs 195 per minute to Rs 150 per minute and thehandset to handset call charge to Rs 100 per minute about four months ago.

IITL is the Indian subsidiary of the satellite communication company, Iridium LLC (USA), in which Motorola Inc holds about 18 per cent equity stake.

A delegation of Indian financial institutions, led by IDBI executive director and Iridium India chairman SK Chakraborti, was in London last week discussing the fate of the Indian outfit with its US parent.

Iridium LLC had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the US last month after defaulting on two loans totalling more than $1.5 billion. "This move had been forced by banks' enforcing covenants in the face of restructuring in the company," Iridium officials said. The default had pushed the struggling operator of $5 billion global satellite telecommunication network closer to bankruptcy.

Indian financial institutions -- led by the Industrial Development Bank of India -- hold a substantial stake in IITL, and have contributed $70 million to Iridium LLC (about 3.7 per cent ofits capital). "Iridium India has a large exposure in Iridium LLC, US, in the form of equity holding. Some Indian financial institutions too have an equity and debt exposure in Iridium India," institutional sources said adding that there is a strong possibility that Iridium India could default on the loan payment in India.

Iridium provides global phone service through its network of 66 satellites that cost $5 billion. It has suffered from slower than anticipated subscriber growth, and marketing and distribution mistakes. The company has decided to go in for a revamp following the loan defaults.