To: MileHigh who wrote (10877 ) 3/17/2000 1:59:00 PM From: Manx Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 29987
ARTICLE: Wall St. Eavesdropper: Don't give up on Globalstar By Jeff Clabaugh, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 11:15 AM ET Mar 17, 2000 NewsWatch Can Globalstar ( GSTRF: news, msgs) succeed where Iridium has all but failed? It might seem unlikely that investors should get too excited about a company that's pegging its future on satellite telephones after watching the Iridium story unfold over the last couple of years. Bankrupt and with deep-pocket partners like Motorola no longer interested, Iridium appears ready to fall from orbit. But the competition may have learned from Iridium's mistakes and find a profitable business where Iridium has failed. At Business Week's eBiz Web Site, Sam Jaffe's Street Wise column takes a look at Globalstar's future, and Jaffe thinks the company stands a chance. For one thing, he quotes figures that say despite the widespread use of wireless phones around the world, only 13 percent of the earth has wireless reception. Millions of professionals want global coverage and if the price is right they'll pay for it. Another analyst figures Globalstar could eventually charge as little as 20 cents a minute for phone time and still break even. That's just a fraction of what Iridium has been charging. Globalstar has a couple of other things going for it Iridium doesn't. Jaffe says it's low earth orbit satellites makes calls almost as clear as a land-line connections, and unlike Iridium's early days, Globalstar customers haven't voiced many complaints about sound quality. It also doesn't have to worry about building a distribution system for its phones because just about every big wireless company will be selling them. And its phones automatically switch to cell or wireless service where it's available. Meanwhile, Jaffe says Globalstar's stock has reached ridiculously cheap levels. If its strategy works, the company could be raking in billions of dollars a year in revenue. He quotes a Globalstar watcher as saying the stock won't wait for profits and if subscriber growth takes off by the fourth quarter this year, the stock will be worth a lot more than it is today. See full story.