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

To: Valueman who wrote (9374)	1/9/2000 1:13:00 PM
From: Rocket Scientist	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

Valueman, I'm sure I speak for many here in thanking you for your continuing contributions to the thread, even though you have pulled your investments out of Loral/G. In response to "I have problems with management and with financial/execution issues " I'd like to say a few words in mgmt's defense. We've all been a little frustrated at the pace of the "phased role out of commercial service" but these frustrations should be tempered by respect for some extraordinary accomplishments in 1999: 1. The company successfully launched 40 spacecraft in ten months, without a single launch or satellite failure; an unprecedented accomplishment in the history of aerospace. 2. The system was proven to meet the highest standards of performance, reliability and ease of use. 3. G raised close to 1B$ on terms that were minimally dilutive to shareholders, in the context of a very skeptical capital market, thanks to Iridium fiasco. Sure it would be better if all 38 GWs and 300K UTs that were ordered with some fanfare two years ago were on stream and making money right now. I think the reason for the delay is clear in retrospect, and if BLS had told the unvarnished truth 12 months ago, it would have been something like this: "Well, fellow shareholders, the Zenit failure has left us in a bit of a bind, because even though G* has the commitment and thinks it can get the money to finish the space segment by Q3 '99, none of our SPs and equipment manufacturers will spend a dime of their own money until they see at least 30+ satellites working in space and know for sure that we'll have the money to finish the job, and that the phones really work and they update their market forecasts in light of Iridium's disaster, etc, etc. So because of that, we may have to limp to the starting line with only a half dozen or so GWs and a few 10Ks of UTs because that's all we can afford to get ready." Well, that story wouldn't have played too well in the financial markets, so BLS pulled a WJC: he told the literal truth, while misleading everybody. We DID "start" the regional rollout of service essentially on schedule. Considering what would have happened to G* prospects for getting financing, if he'd told the unvarnished truth, I'm damn glad he spun it the way he did.