WOW! What a mind blowing epiphany! Ported over from Globalstar thread.
To: Clark Hare (5191 )
From: RMiethe ( Ignore ) Monday, Jun 14 1999 9:35PM ET
Reply # of 5279
CH: Thank you much for the clarification. Somehow, however, I seem to be missing something (quite possible, and wouldn't be the first time, and won't be the last) in the whole read of the GSM question: namely, you can't get GSM in 35% of the globe. And won't be able to for decades (ITU tells you that in its surveys of geographical outlets for cellular tower buildout). Now, either the ITU is wrong, and Rajala is on to something, or the ITU is right and Rajala has not considered that statistic.
Let me point out one geographical land area-- Brazil. According to the International Telecommunications Union, only 11.1% of Brazil has telephony, and yet it is the eighth largest economy in the world. Somehow, it seems to me if GSM was the way to go, it should be rampant throughout Brazil. Or, let me put it another way, not just 11.1% of Brazil should have telephony.
Give you another stat: according to the ITU (which incidentally, as I have to think you know along with me and others) governs all wireless licensing worldwide (so that includes our friend GSM) 17% of India has access to telephony. India stands 31st in world economies. Somehow, again, if GSM were our answer to telephony needs worlwide, I just intutively take a gander and think to myself, GSM should at least have provided for India a larger than 17% access to telephony. Then I look closer at the ITU statistics and find out that cellular buildout there to cover India would cost megabillions. And the government in New Dehli is not about to spend the cash needed.
My point? GSM ain't the answer to telephony worldwide. And that's what Globalstar investors have been saying.
That's my only point with poster Rajala. But hey-- we only have probably 100 days left to see what basis in fact our opinions have. Then we'll see if GSM and tower constructions throughout unfriendly populated terrain is the answer, or whether satellites have a role in telephony communications. If GSM is the way to go in unfriendly terrain, I would much rather know today than in 100 days.
Thanks again CH for the explanation.
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