My wishful thinking from October 1997, over 3 years ago. <At some stage, Globalstar management will realize that the way to maximize profit is to charge as low as it takes to fill the system as quickly as handsets can be produced. That means cheap service. Iridium is STILL talking $2 to $4 dollars or some such. They can forget it. Globalstar will simply take nearly all the business, fill the satellites, charge way less than Iridium [unless demand is so huge that it really does work to charge $2 per minute], launch second, third and forth constellations with ever better technology and ever cheaper prices leaving all competitors scrambling in the old-fashioned idea of an underused network and excessively high prices.
Having satellites with half their life over before they are half full is simply crazy. Handset production will be the key and a very profitable part of the satellite business for the first 4 years. Hugely profitable. After that, the network will make the money as competition mounts in handsets and per minute prices rise as capacity is reached.
I hope Globalstar hasn't tied themselves into some weird fixed price contracts which don't totally allow subscriber-priced service to result in a fully used service as soon as possible. Preferably within three months of launch. >
Well, as it turned out, both Iridium and Globalstar blundered along the same absurdly high-priced path to financial oblivion. It is amazing to me.
Okay, maybe Globalstar management are NEVER going to understand that pricing plan and neither will Vodafone. I wonder if QUALCOMM can understand it. Blackstone? So far, it's like a surrealistic nightmare. Maybe Blackstone will come up with the idea that Globalstar and Vodafone should INCREASE prices to make it a really exclusive club of people owning the handsets.
I actually would not be surprised.
Mqurice
PS: And still the Zombie-like mindless mantra from Globalstar continues:
"We are not competing with cellular"
Hey, Globalstar, wake up! Don't let a slogan do your thinking for you. You ARE competing with cellular, whether you know it or not and they are eating your lunch. Because you think you aren't competing with cellular, you aren't even trying and will lose. And have done!!
Anyone think Blackstone is full of Zombies? I suspect it is simply because Globalstar has hired them. Anyone have any links to their activities, decisions, business plans for Chiquita and other such problem children? Please supply them. |
