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

To: gdichaz who wrote (11090)	3/22/2000 10:00:00 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 29986

Chaz, GSM handsets are desirable, but not essential for use in the GSM world. People can have two phones. One, a terrestrial GSM phone. The other the QUALCOMM phone which would work only in satellite mode. That isn't ideal, but better than nothing if people really want remote coverage. The issue is that the GSM service providers in Europe, Australia etc are taking a dog-in-the-manger attitude and don't want to provide QUALCOMM handsets which could be used with competitors' terrestrial networks [not in Europe but in Australia]. The key to all this is the contractual situation. There are exclusive Service Provider conditions, but I don't know when the clock starts running. It might be only when handsets are available from 3 suppliers [among other conditions such as all satellites in final position and a certain very high level of performance is shown]. Once the Service Provider decides to go commercial, I suppose that would be taken as time to start the clock. Maybe they are getting away with a delayed clock because Ericy is goofing around. Maybe Ericy is goofing around to run the place into the ground and pick up another pearl for their 'string of pearls' strategy, though I imagine they have some contractual conditions which require performance or they lose some contractual benefits. They would have to be under some stringent requirement to perform. Nobody can expect to pick up Globalstar for a song because there would be too many competing bids, so I'm not too serious about that as a Machiavellian strategy. But it could well be the 'blundering' outcome of a big mess whereby opportunistic Service Providers or handset makers start buying the stock. To talk about GSM handsets being available at the end of April means the beginning of May, which, going by the right-sliding rate of everything else labelled Globalstar [other than Qualcomm performance], will really mean the end of summer. Or perhaps the beginning of 2001. And Ericy thinks they can produce W-CDMA handsets???!!! They don't have a show if they can't manage these phones with QUALCOMM's ASICs and technology to support their efforts. We were scheduled to get a report on minutes and handsets at the end of March. That's going to be an interesting time! There is NO shortage of QUALCOMM handsets. There is a shortage of paid orders for production. QUALCOMM quite rightly did NOT gear up production on the basis of wishful thinking by Globalstar last September. It seems that QUALCOMM should increase the price of their handsets since the Service Providers are being so greedy on their minute retail prices and Globalstar LP isn't prepared to hugely discount minutes instead of giving them to space ghosts. They are the only handsets available by the look of it, so QUALCOMM could squeeze the other sluggish, greedy and ineffectual Globalstar participants. That would be fun! Then, when the thing is heading for bankruptcy, QUALCOMM could sell another few shares [at $135 per share] and buy the thing out for a song, then slash minutes to zero $ per minute, cut the handset price back to something like $1000 and get ready to sell 10m handsets without a GSM mode. Just forget about GSM and undercut the greedy, slow and stupid Service Providers who seem to be making pitiful attempts to bring the service at a sensible price to a world still full of mobile communication holes. I suspect that a lot of Globalstar shareholders might think it better if QUALCOMM was running Globalstar. Then again, maybe Qualcomm agreed to some fixed price for handsets as part of the supply agreements. I'd say there is a lot of very close scrutinizing of supplier and service agreements going on!! Something is going to happen. Major Paradigm Shift is Happening as we 'speak'. Maurice PS: Keep in mind that L M Ericsson did NOT choose to get into Globalstar handset manufacture. Orbitel, which L M Ericsson had a share in, was the company which contracted to make the GSM handsets [along with Telital, now renamed Telit]. L M Ericsson bought the rest of Orbitel in 1996 [or maybe it was 1997]. The reasons for the acquisition of Orbitel are not known to me but might or might not have much to do with the Globalstar contract. I remain totally suspicious of anything L M Ericsson might do. They have never demonstrated any ability to bring something CDMA to market. They have agreed to try [by buying QUALCOMM's facility and licences]. Treating them like a Hagfish would be a sensible strategy in their Globalstar actions. Assume malevolent intent and probably incompetence too. So far the results fit! I feel VERY nervous depending on L M Ericsson. I hope good lawyers are reading the contracts.