RMiethe, thanks for the suggestions [all of which were good]. I can assure you that some in Globalstar do read this thread. I have discussed these ideas with a marketing executive, in person. They are wanting to sell a gateway in New Zealand. With low demand here, the cost of a gateway is much harder to justify than in Australia, USA or Korea where millions, 100s of millions or 1000s of millions are potential customers. We have only 4 million people and a lot of sheep.
If they want to sell minutes, they have to cut the price. Plain and simple. I'd buy a gateway next week if the price per minute was right! But not at 55c per minute from the outset.
If Globalstar isn't keeping an eye on this thread, they are not doing a good job. I think they are. They won't post here because that can lead to many problems. The staff are instructed [as are Qualcomm staff] not to post on these threads, but they do read them.
I think they disagree with the pricing suggestion because it doesn't fit their belief systems [central control, defence industry, organisation, planning, systematic, businesslike, orderly, engineering]. Marketing is a feral business though the MBA schools try to systematize it into case studies and manipulative techniques. Humans are notably independent, individualistic and prone to a fractalized approach to what they want, though fashion is a powerful influence too.
To let control go and let the customers set the price in an iterative process designed to fill the system goes very much against the grain. AirTouch was successful in a duopoly situation. Not really a marketing free-for-all, though it is much more so now that serious comnpetition is arriving in the USA with multichoice wireless networks. Sorry if I suggested AirTouch was greedy - I think all companies should maximize their profits, which I don't see as greedy.
I do believe what I write about ICO. I doubt they have a half second delay at 10000km altitude [up to 14000km distance]. Is that correct? I'd have guessed about 200ms or maybe 300ms, just into the realm of noticeable for most people who would find it somewhat offputting. Price, coverage and good little handset would offset that disadvantage somewhat. The ICO handsets I saw were a good chunk smaller than the Globalstar handset, though still much bigger than terrestrial handsets. Do you think Globalstar can shrink their handsets any time soon?
I'm hoping ICO will delay their launch, but they show no signs of it. I agree they are holdovers from Inmarsat and their idea of 'differentiation' if you read their url is to say how they hire women and people from round the world. Not much benefit to subscribers. They didn't even mention handset size and price advantage.
On reporting customers, I meant when the system is operating! Not now. Report a running tally of subscribers on the system, handsets sold, minutes sold, etc from when service starts. I wasn't suggesting a fraudulent flim-flam effort.
Thanks for the comments. Sure, most of what is written here is opinion, but there is a lot of expert and precise stuff too and the opinions are mostly pretty good ones. It all helps us each figure out whether we like what we see and whether we wish to invest.
I think you are right about Inmarsat marketing like the Post Office, but I'm not prepared to depend on incompetence in the opposition, I'd rather just cut off their air supply! [To quote $ill Gates sidekicks]
Maurice
[Feel free to cut and paste my comments and write direct to Globalstar, editing out the more egregious fierceness. You might do a better job than I could and you obviously have some contacts] |
