Iridium Satellite kicked off the commercial launch of its global satellite communications services at a press conference on March 28. The Iridium gateway is fully operational, enabling the delivery of truly mobile, truly global voice telephony services. The company will launch data services, including dial-up access and direct Internet connectivity, in June 2001, followed by short burst messaging services, which are expected to be available later in the year. Users can benefit from reliable mobile telephony to and from remote areas of the globe where terrestrial systems are not available. With complete coverage of the Earth's oceans…