Maurice G* may be "too expensive" for a mass market (though I question if 1M out of 200M cell phones sold annually, let alone 6B people is properly considered a "mass market") but it's still the best value for what it does that I know of.
Comparing GMPCS pricing at
gmpcs-us.com
with Satellite Warehouse
azstarnet.com
We see the phone price is identical: 1495$. Of course, we believe the Q phone is better voice quality, easier to use, and it's definitely tri mode, lighter and smaller than the Mot phone, with service available from a non-bankrupt company. So point to G*.
As for air time rates--GMPCS has three plans, Astar two; when you compare the most economical plan vs minutes of use per month for the two companies you get this:
MoU GMPCS Astar %diff
10 $47 $44 -7%
15 $55 $56 1%
20 $64 $68 6%
30 $81 $92 12%
40 $98 $122 20%
50 $115 $140 18%
60 $131 $157 17%
70 $148 $175 15%
80 $165 $193 14%
90 $182 $211 14%
100 $199 $229 13%
110 $216 $247 13%
120 $233 $265 12%
130 $250 $283 12%
140 $267 $301 11%
150 $284 $319 11%
160 $300 $336 11%
170 $317 $354 10%
180 $334 $372 10%
190 $353 $390 9%
200 $368 $408 10%
210 $383 $426 10%
220 $398 $444 10%
230 $413 $462 11%
240 $428 $480 11%
250 $443 $498 11%
270 $472 $533 11%
290 $502 $569 12%
310 $532 $605 12%
330 $562 $641 12%
350 $592 $677 13%
370 $621 $712 13%
390 $651 $748 13%
410 $681 $784 13%
430 $711 $820 13%
450 $741 $856 13%
470 $770 $891 14%
490 $800 $927 14%
510 $829 $963 14%
530 $857 $999 14%
550 $885 $1,035 14%
570 $912 $1,070 15%
590 $940 $1,106 15%
610 $968 $1,142 15%
630 $996 $1,178 15%
650 $1,024 $1,214 16%
670 $1,051 $1,249 16%
690 $1,079 $1,285 16%
For the majority of users, G* will be 10-20% cheaper than Iridium.
Maybe Satwarehouse is not the most competitive Irid supplier. Seven Seas is offering Mot phones as low as 1200$, but they don't publish their airtime rates.
If anyone knows of better pricing, please post.
One of the things I like best about G*'s rollout plan is the G* suppliers will be competing among themselves. I expect to see O'Gara, Airtouch, and all the rest publish rates soon enough, and that will put a beneficial downward pressure on prices even if Irid disappears altogether. |
