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

To: David Wiggins who wrote (8509)	12/1/1999 2:41:00 PM
From: Valueman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29986

UAE Thuraya says competitive pricing key to survival[such a simple concept, so difficult for G* to understand] DUBAI, Reuters [WS : Abu Dhabi-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co said on Tuesday its ``competitive' pricing would attract a wider customer base than its industry rivals and shelter it from the financial difficulties they faced. ``By lowering its tariffs and costs Thuraya's business plan is aimed at targetting a much wider customer base,' Hassan Azzee, marketing manager at Thuraya, told a Middle East telecoms conference in Dubai. ``We don't want to make the same mistakes as other operators,' he said. Thuraya, which is targeting more than 400,000 subscribers in its first year, is due to launch its first satellite in May 2000 and start commercial operations around September. ``We are already witnessing good demand for Thuraya services due to our competitive prices, so we are considering launching a second satellite earlier than we initially planned,' Azzee said. Thuraya's satellite will cover 99 countries, including the Middle East, much of Africa, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Central Asia, Turkey, CIS states and parts of Europe. TEETHING TROUBLES IN SATELLITE INDUSTRY But the fledgling global mobile satellite industry has suffered a troubled recent history. U.S. competitors Iridium LLC and ICO Global Communications Ltd. both filed for bankruptcy protection in August this year. Azzee said Thuraya had a competitive edge over its industry rivals through its solid financing, lower tariffs and strong regional focus. He said Thuraya's price for its standard handset would be around $600, which he called the lowest in the GMPCS (global mobile personal communication by satellite) industry. Charges for calls between Thuraya phones within its coverage area would be around 50 cents per minute, while calls to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) worldwide would cost 50 cents per minute plus interconnection, but not exceed $1. Thuraya's system is to be offered in four different models: the handheld phone, the car phone, the fixed line and the maritime, which is still under development. ``We are also working very actively with several companies to produce a payphone,' Azzee told the conference. Thuraya has so far announced agreements with service providers in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. ``And in the next two months we will hopefully sign up to (a further) 10 agreements with major accounts,' Azzee said. Thuraya, with a capital of $500 million, is owned by several major Arab enterprises including the UAE's Etisalat telecommunications company, the Abu Dhabi Investment Co., Qatar's Q-Tel and the Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat) -- owned by 21 Arab countries. Top