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To: Peter Sherman who wrote (141017)	1/12/2006 4:53:23 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 152472

Thanks for the info Peter. I find the phone works fine, giving very good voice quality. Because I am right out on the fringe of Dubbo coverage, I'm not surprised that calls frequently drop, or no satellite is in view. With the depleted constellation, you are indeed right and coverage is thin on the ground, with 4 satellites not always in view, as they should be. I suppose by inconsistent service you mean satellites weren't always available. I'm surprised at that in the USA up north. It really does take a lot of sky to be sure of having a satellite in view. In NYC, the tall buildings would be quite a problem. Out in the countryside though, coverage should be pretty good, though the signal doesn't get through trees and I suppose you know that. Battery life is only about 8 hours so it's pretty much a turn on, use, turn off, service, with "turn off" being what users think of it all too often given the current 20th century handset and badly damaged constellation. As you say, a much better handset and many more satellites are the main requirements. But when those are right, minute price has to be much better to sell millions of handsets. When using in hand held mode, one has to be very particular about using it to get success. In car kit form, subscribers are much happier. But problems notwithstanding, at least you have been able to use it where other options were not available. Some performance is better than nothing available from terrestrial services. I'd say the service has been proven sufficiently to justify developing second generation handsets and satellites, with the service approaching 200,000 users, despite the problems and deficiencies of the existing system and phones. It must have been at least of some use since you have kept using it all these years [I think that's what you mean]. Mqurice