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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Globalstar Telecommunications Limited GSAT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gdichaz who wrote (7543)	9/24/1999 7:52:00 AM
From: Jeff Vayda	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

GLOBALSTAR AIMS FOR MORE STRATEGIC TRAJECTORY Seems we slip ever to the right - Commercial start now Nov-Dec for 20 countries. (Thanks Phillips Telecon) Jeff Vayda NEW ORLEANS - With a "soft" service launch now a matter of weeks away, Globalstar L.P. [GSTRF] aims to go where its two mobile satellite communications rivals have not gone before. At PCS '99 here, Globalstar's top honchos said they expect the low-Earth-orbit provider of broadband services to serve 20 countries, including much of North America, in its commercial roll-out scheduled for the December-January time frame. Nine gateways will be in service to provide terrestrial links for this initial launch. In its mid-November soft launch, Globalstar will hook up an undisclosed number of customers in each of the 20 countries to test consumers' response to the system before actually offering commercial service. The launch amounts to continued trials of the system. Hoping to avoid the production hiccups that Iridium Communications Ltd. [IRID] has suffered, Globalstar is drawing from multiple handset vendors - Qualcomm Inc. [QCOM], L.M. Ericsson AB [ERICY] and Italy's Italtel - to build a sufficient base of phones for the service launch. Iridium is mired in Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy proceedings, as is the third hopeful in the mobile satellite market, ICO Global Communications Ltd. [ICOGF]. Qualcomm is the lead handset supplier for Globalstar and plans to have 40,000 to 50,000 mobile and fixed units ready for the soft launch. Qualcomm is striving to improve its monthly run rate. "I wish I could sell more phones," said Jerry Beckwith, the company executive in charge of Globalstar handset production. Beckwith's comment was indicative of the upbeat picture that Globalstar executives painted regarding market response to the impending launch. [Strange comment, 'striving to improve' ? Wishes he could sell more phones? jv] According to Mike Kerr, vice president and general manager of Globalstar USA, the operator is gearing up to initially market specialized applications, followed by promotions geared more toward mainstream cellular users. Globalstar, seeking to avoid another pitfall that befell Iridium, is stressing a decentralized approach to its marketing. It is granting local operators wide latitude to sell, distribute and promote Globalstar service to conform to local norms and customs. Globalstar's initial services will be limited to voice communications and short messaging, but Beckwith noted that executives are evaluating data platforms from which to introduce asynchronous data connections and Internet access next year. Globalstar President Tony Navarra said market response has been strong in Latin America, complementing the operator's position of starting out in North America. Mexico in particular may present a good test case for Globalstar's "village phone" application. There are fully 20,000 small Mexican villages not served or badly under-served in terms of telecom services. Globalstar is negotiating with Mexican authorities on extending service into these villages through the installation of fixed, centrally located phones.