Motorola this week called on its partners to help bail out Iridium World Communications, the financially troubled global satellite phone company that Motorola bankrolled.

Motorola (MOT) owns 18 per cent of Iridium and has guaranteed a portion of the satellite phone company's debt. Iridium has struggled to sign up subscribers and has not been able to pay its debts.

In a statement accompanying its second-quarter earnings, Motorola said it "will not provide any further support beyond existing contractual commitments unless there is substantial participation in the Iridium LLC restructuring from all parties with significant financial interest".

Those parties include Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.