To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (20554 ) 12/27/2000 12:49:17 AM From: Maurice Winn Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 29987 Art, I don't buy the senility argument. Or even significant reduction in brain function. The agreements with the service providers were established 6 years ago at which time I'm sure Bernie and his sidekicks were all mentally functioning [though perhaps overenthused about the prospects of Globalstar so perhaps undervaluing the risks of marketing failure and remedies in that event, especially in conjunction with a delayed gateway and licensing development]. Selling this service is a no-brainer. By that I mean it takes very few brains to sell this AT THE RIGHT PRICE. We could get senior citizens to sell it and they'd have no trouble even with fading memory and reactions. It's just a phone. What a salesperson has to say is "Hey!" [Because all ideas begin with Hey! in the USA these days and even in some other countries]. "Try this phone!" The prospective customer says, "What a monster! I don't want to kill a buffalo or frighten small children. No thanks!" The rep says, "Hang on! I know it's a beast, but this works, like, [Ed: the sale being made in California] everywhere; from out in the Caribbean and from Alaska down to the tip of Argentina - other than a couple of areas and they'll be online next year. Go on, dial somebody you know, anywhere at all". So the prospect figures they'll give it a whirl. Sure enough, it works and sounds really good. "Hey! No delay in the voice. I thought you said it's satellite?" "Yeah, it's satellite, but LOW satellite, so it doesn't take the usual time to go way out into space and back". "How much is it?" "It works out to 20c a minute. You can have a Free Fone plan with 500 minutes a month for $100 for two years, then as much as you want at 20c a minute. Or, buy the phone for $1,200 and get 600 minutes a month for $60 within your country [that's only 10c a minute] and if roaming to other countries, 30c a minute for most countries. Or you can just buy minutes as you go for 20c a minute in your home zone. Here's a map with prices in the areas". "Shall I hook this phone up for you now? I've got 150 in my allocation for this week and once I've gone through those, I can't sell more [other than on back-order] - we are a bit short on stock at the moment, so they are rationed... This is cheaper than your regular cellphone, so it'll pay for itself in no time, even without a flat tire out in the sticks or hiking around - you know what a pain it is when you need a phone and there is NOTHING available and cellphones are out of range." "One for your wife too? Okay, we'll take $200 off the second phone if you buy two now. Not only that, you get 500 minutes free for her phone". "Yep, those free minutes carry over from month to month - you don't have to use them all in the first month." If Globalstar put some sales people outside the fortifications talking to real people, I think they'd sell a lot in a short time. Just on the internet, they'd sell heaps. It's a no-brainer at the right price. The time taken to realize the potential of the service is directly proportional to the consumer surplus. A bargain spreads like wildfire. An indifferent service with a high price will take a longggggg time to be recognized. As you say, yes the assets will be discounted and this will be a system which will sell. The point is for US to sell it. Not the new owner of the assets. At less than $300 million market capitalisation for the whole of Globalstar LP, never mind just GSTRF, this is a serious bargain if the strangling service providers can be thrown off. We need service provider contract lawyers!! Mqurice