Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: TMann who wrote (13068)	5/25/2000 7:18:00 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 29987

Good grief, they really plan on ripping off the Europeans on minutes. They think it's good, daring, creative or some other marketing brilliance not to charge an extra monthly fixed fee for the privilege of paying heaps for a Globalstar phone. That marginal cost/fixed cost argument was going around in circles in the 1970s and I suppose it is still 1970s accountants running the show. Meanwhile, 5 billion unused minutes have gone 'poof' into the ether in space, never to return. I couldn't be bothered reading the European review carefully. As you say, nothing interesting and just fodder for more doom and gloom. Tero is right - the Euros won't touch it with a forty foot barge pole. A huge, rotten battery-life phone, which costs a fortune per minute will NOT sell well in Europe. Chris Gent seems to think it's pretty cool. Well, I don't buy this nonsense that Vodafone is a great marketer. All the evidence I'm seeing is that they haven't a clue. I mentioned the Brisbane shop's hopeless efforts in G! marketing. Now, a daughter bought a Vodafone terrestrial phone a couple of days ago in Auckland. I went there too. The sales person didn't have a clue about anything - thinking 900 MHz is better than 800 MHz because it's more up to date. Hadn't heard of Globalstar at all [wondered whether I meant GlobalOne]. Sure, they aren't selling it yet in New Zealand, but you'd think there might be just a hint of interest or staff/distributor newsletter etc since Australia is now selling. Thought CDMA hopeless but knew almost nothing about it and what she did know was wrong. Didn't know anything about 3G. Zahler claims Iridium was different?! Well, the hugely overpriced minutes with big and expensive phones is very similar to Iridium's effort. Doomed to fail I'd say. <There are two Globalstar handsets - the Ericsson R290 (œ1200) and the Telit SAT550 (œ800). Please note that these prices are not subsidised and are intended as a guide only, as handset costs are determined by individual service providers. There will be a range of tariff prices according to where calls are originated/terminated. As a guide, the UK domestic tariff (for calls within the UK and from the UK to Western Europe and the USA) will be approximately $2.24 per minute. As with all roaming charges, Globalstar call charges may be subject to service provider mark-up, VAT and fluctuating exchange rates.> Where the hell do they get such an insanely high number as $2.24 per minute? Plus all the other charges if you can figure them out. Chris Gent and Bernie Schwartz might as well have saved their breath. What an embarrassment. So much for hoping that Gent and Schwartz would announce anything that would be anything other than a sad joke. Bernie should have stayed home [I understand he went to Britain for the big announcement]. He should have left Chris Gent to stew in his own juices and get the lawyers ready for when Vodafone fails to comply with their contracts by failing to sell enough minutes. That would have saved some airfares, hotel costs, meals and tips for rotten service. Vodafone should be pricing minutes BELOW terrestrial, not hugely above it. Maybe this makes sense somehow? Could somebody please tell me just why I don't have a clue what I'm talking about and how the brilliant MBAs with sophisticated bundled and vertically market-segmented Harley Davidson-riding minute merchants will differentiate the product, sectorize the horizontal customer-oriented distributors and sell 7 million handsets over the next 5 years and 10bn minutes a year? Heck, let's hope Tero doesn't hear about it! He'll take a negative point of view and think $2.24 too expensive. He obviously hasn't been to marketing school. Any fool knows you need to charge heaps, catch the big-payers, get people used to the big numbers, then lower the price as demand builds. Bloody Hell, he'll be gloating like a maniac! He could choke on gloating if he isn't careful. If it's such a crash-hot marketing campaign, how come they aren't boasting flat out with minute graphs right there on the front of the Web page, with handset sales zooming up an exponential line and a "SORRY, TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK" flashing sign where they sell handsets? I'd sell, but at $9 a share, even the worst marketing campaign by Vodafone [and the others] should see a 20% per year GLP price rise, when averaged over the next few years. Service Providers will gradually figure out that not everyone enjoys Chris Gent's financial position and they are NOT prepared to drop $3 a minute to phone home [for more than a few minutes a month]. Dehypothecation won't help if they don't get their marketing right [the share price will go up, then trickle down again as the slow sales continue]. Booo to Chris Gent. Down with Chris Gent! $2.24! They're mad. Big deal - no monthly fee! Disappointed, but dehypothecated, Mqurice PS: I notice we hear less about what a great marketing system we have using the service providers who know their markets and customers. Maybe somebody will point out my folly, ignorance and mistakes tomorrow and $2.24 will look like some kind of brilliant pricing strategy. Anyone still thinking the 'let's get this right' soft rollout stealth campaign announced last September is the way to go? $2.24 and super expensive Ericy phone? Nope not 1 April. Memorial Day Massacre might be right! We'll know soon the market response to the great announcement from Vodafone.