News:
Globalstar in China mobile telecom pact
Reuters Story - November 11, 1996 04:07
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BEIJING, Nov 11 (Reuter) - Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd
said on Monday it had reached an accord with a unit of China's
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to extend its planned
global mobile satellite system to customers in China.
Under the agreement, the China Telecommunications Broadcast
Satellite Corp (Chinasat) would act as sole distributor for the
Globalstar services in China once it is operational in 1998.
Chinasat would also own and operate four planned ground
stations and be responsible for interconnections with the
Globalstar system.
Globalstar will provide the gateway links with international
fiber-optic and wireline telecommunications switching centres.
"We will provide the initial ground station in Beijing at a
cost of about $10 million," Globalstar chairman Bernard
Schwartz told reporters.
"We expect another three to be deployed around the country,"
he said, adding that they would cost $5-6 million each.
Globalstar, based in San Jose, California, was founded by
Loral Corp and QAULCOMM Inc . It also includes France Telecom , Hyundai , Alcatel Alsthom, and Daimler-Benz Aerospace among others.
It plans to have a system of 48 low-earth-orbit satellites
launched to provide service by 1998 in a project that is
expected to cost $2.5 billion.
The system is designed to give customers in over 100
countries voice communications as well as data transmission,
paging and facsimile services. Customers would use hand-held,
vehicle mounted or fixed site terminals.
Schwartz said satellite communications were expected to play
a significant role in a country of China's size. He estimated
Globalstar would have 200,000 customers in China by the year
2002, representing about eight percent of the company's global
market.
China does not allow foreign companies to operate
telecommunications networks domestically but Schwartz said the
structure would meet Beijing's requirements.
"The arrangement was specifically designed for countries
like China," he said,
Globalstar was discussing a possible equity stake by China,
Schwartz said, although he added that this was not a
pre-condition for China's role in the venture. |
