Another great bunch of posts today. Interesting that the focus has shifted from the Anthony@pleasedontlockmeup knee-jerk "Iridium proved there is no market for satellite telephony", to the "there's a pretty good sized market that can be addressed profitably, and here's proof (Inmarsat) plus conjecture (McCaw)."
Which leads to "mine's better than yours", "no its not", "is too" stuff.
Different customer needs can be addressed by different operators.
G* is not, yet, a lost cause. The (mainly self-inflicted) wounds are not fatal. However, until G* management gets pro-active, and not reactive, and takes off the one-way blinders, it's unlikely that the management mistakes will abate. Stichnoth laid it out in some detail. Until that changes, the shorts have a pretty valid position, technology and market-size arguments notwithstanding.
Crappy management and sloppy execution can kill any organization, regardless of its otherwise redeeming factors.
People who hope that Chris Gent, Irwin Jacobs, or some other "Higher Power" will ride in to save the day deserve to have their lunch eaten by the shorts.
BTW, G* management in my subjective report card has moved up in the last thirty days from grade "F" to a "D".
In this life, a consistent "D" = ultimate failure - but it drags out the pain longer than a straight "F".
They might get the overall grade up to a "C" in a few months. This would be enough to prevent Iridiumization, but mighn't do a whole lot for GSTRF equity. |
