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

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (24482)	11/24/2001 1:54:10 PM
From: Tahoetech	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

A friend of ours just got back from a bird watching expedition to the jungles of Peru. She told us over Thanksgiving dinner that she used a Globalstar phone to keep in touch. I asked her if she rented the phone, she said she bought it...and it worked great, even on the jungle floor (she only had one call dropped) while under thick canopy foliage. Now, if they can only get this thing to work indoors...

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (24482)	11/27/2001 8:29:29 PM
From: A.J. Mullen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29987

Anecdotes concerning G* phones and aviation radios I recently got back from a kayaking trip down the Grand Canyon. We used a firm of professional outfitters to shuttle us the 230 miles from the take-out to the put-in. A globalstar phone was sitting on the dash of the van used. The driver mentioned that the last group he had shuttled had had one member who had suffered from very serious head injuries after a fall while climbing. They had been carrying a globalstar phone and had been able to call for a helicopter evacuation of the injured person. They had no problem getting service, and got a quick response. I previously posted that I suspected service would be patchy given the limited view of the sky in parts of the canyon. I didn't think to ask wher the accident occurred. The driver's impression was that the phones worked pretty in the canyon. I previously advocated (and bought for the purpose myself) carrying an aviation band transceiver for such emergencies. One of our group had broken her ankle on a previous trip through the canyon. They had such a radio and succeeded in in contacting several airliners. Each time, however, the caller had neglected to clearly state that there was an emergency. The caller (an off-duty policemen) spent time identifying himself and the group. The airliner was out of (radio) sight before they were informed of the help needed. They didn't turn back. The accident happened very close to the end of the trip (one or two days). The woman was transported downriver by raft, then carried by SUV over a dirt road for one hour and good roads for four hours before getting to hospital. She did come back for another trip though! We agreed that we would use the following phraseology if we needed to airlift someone: "Mayday, Mayday. Medical emergency at mile xxx of the Grand Canyon" (Maps are marked from Lee's Ferry). On receiving a response, "Request helicopter evacuation of one (?)" and giving a brief description of the injuries." All groups running the canyon are required to carry material for marking a landing zone helicopters. You'll be glad to hear Maurice that the cost of such evacuations are charged to the individual. I'm glad to report that our worst injury was a badly stubbed toe. Ashley Ps Charging. The problem with providing an ermergency-only service for which one is only charged in the event of the emergency is that it could be a PR disaster for the company: "Company profits on Disaster!" A solution would be to provide, say, three days, free service with the phone, starting whenever first used. A person buys the phone, uses it six years later when his small airplane noses over and strikes on a dirt strip in Idaho. He uses it to arrange for another plane to fly out a mechanic and tools, and pick up him and his friends. After he gets back he is invited to re-establish the usefulness of his phone by paying several hundred bucks. All this pre-supposes that globalstar won't offer a plan with a low cost per minute, and that if they did, some wouldn't want to be able to contact the rest of the world except in an emergency.