Skeets, there is a huge, untapped market for satellite telephones. The problem for Globalstar (and Iridium and Ico further down the road) is, I think, made crystal clear in a post by marginmike further up the thread. He quotes someone as saying that people who use cell phones in New York city rarely go outside the New York city area. Similarly, most people who are going to use satellite phones are not going to need the ability to take them all over the world. Thus, they will be served perfectly well by GEOs (geostationary satellites). For those who go from place to place, e.g., ships, there is already sat phone capacity from Intelsat, etc., but these phones are too big to carry in your pocket - the antennae are dishes.
Iridium, which beat Globalstar in rolling their service out, has gone through bankruptcy and is back in service without all the debt. They were not allowed to fail because the US Department of Defense uses their phones for military personnel stationed all over the world. A niche market, yes, but an important one.
I predict that the same is the best Globalstar can hope for. The satellite phone needs of Africa, Asia and the Middle East are being served by local companies like Thuraya and Indosat. The satellite phone needs of Canada are being served by Telesat, a wholly owned subsidary of BCE, a Canadian company. |
