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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Globalstar Telecommunications Limited GSAT
GSAT 59.47-1.6%Nov 19 3:59 PM EST

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To: DaveMG who wrote (7004)8/30/1999 12:47:00 PM
From: tero kuittinen  Read Replies (2) of 29987
 
The situation is confusing - but ignoring the basic features of Globalstar handsets won't make it any clearer. Is it really irrelevant to take a look at the actual product that Globalstar is selling? Is it better to keep on making new blue-sky sales projections without considering the lump of plastic consumers will actually take home from the store? I think we already know that in Iridium's case the phone size and weight *were* prohibitive. Consumers did compare the Iridium handset to regular mobile phones - and ran a mile. Iridium handsets weigh around 500 grams - Globalstar handsets weigh around 340 grams. Is that gap big enough to make a difference? That's far from obvious.

If you really believe that this business can flourish with only fixed and car handsets, then there is a case for Globalstar. But if these models are meant to be actually carried around, the situation seems very hairy. Consumers will compare the stats to terrestrial models. Motorola's 100 gram GSM worldphone is already on sale. For consumers in Europe, Africa, Israel, China, Australia, etc., the land-based worldphones offer a cheap, no-hassle way to roam. The top US travel destinations have good GSM-1900 coverage. Why wouldn't that roaming model be a major threat to Globalstar in the globetrotter market? I kind of doubt that fixed Globlastar phonebooths in Ouagadougou are going to provide 1 million subs by the end of 2000.

Tero
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