"Analysts are skeptical. "Satellite phone service is a very niche market," says Philip Kendall, senior industry analyst at Strategy Analytics Ltd. (London). "I wouldn't want to spend my money on a service that, essentially, is trying to walk outside the GSM footprint."
The footprint covered by cellular networks based on the global system for mobile communication (GSM) is big and growing. There are currently 390 GSM operators offering service in 141 countries. And many of their customers are already easily roaming between and among local networks. There were 400 million roaming calls in August, up from 300 million just three months earlier, according to the GSM Association (Dublin), which represents the interests of GSM mobile operators."
Another ridiculous Eurocentric view. I so enjoy watching the same attitude come forth as the GSM world is silently undermined by CDMA, with the GSM proponents deaf, dumb, and blind to their own technological demise.
It needn't be said again for those here, but perhaps Mr. Kendall does not realize that G* is not a roaming service. Never was, never will be. Spew out all the stats you want on GSM roaming, it doesn't matter. Live well in your GSM footprint, we have work to do elsewhere. |
