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Technology Stocks : IRID - Iridium World Communications IPO Announced!
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To: Dragonfly who wrote (1601)4/17/1999 10:34:00 PM
From: Bill Jackson  Read Replies (1) of 2693
 
Dragonfly, It is true that the Iridium network serves the globe in a physical sense, however their monopoly areas shrink steadily as terrestrial cellular systems spread, esp those with a sat link, such as in inuvik etc. There will be areas hat cannot support a terrestrial cellular network due to population densities and they are the legitimate prey of Iridium and it's monopoly partners, who often refuse operating permits for mining companies and other remote users etc to use competing satellite links. This is just like the frozen telephone systems in Europe and elsewhere that have rapidly become a thing of the past in most locations.

So i say again, Iridium is doomed and it's only hope to survive is a debt/equity swap where the current owners get diluted to death and they can bring the prices down to a rational level and compete(or try...as the short satellite lifetime and the cost of new launches may never allow profitability).

What iridium needs to do is to transform it's technical methods to a more modern system with coding that has evolved since it started and at some future time change out the handsets and turn on the new satellites and turn off the old(the old can be kept for possible alternate uses, data etc) Whetnher or not this will allow it to compete with more nimble and cheaper and better newcomers is debatable.

Bill
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