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To: Dragonfly who wrote (2444)	4/2/1998 8:51:00 PM
From: Valueman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10852

"the theoretical capacity numbers given are meaningless because there's no set limit on capacity of these systems." Really? Unlimited Capacity? How interesting--physics be damned! I better call Iridium and G* and let them know this straight away!

To: Dragonfly who wrote (2444)	4/2/1998 9:37:00 PM
From: brian h	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10852

Dragonfly, The Iridium system will cost $4.4B total to achieve operational status. The Space Segment of Globalstar will cost 2.7B. Both of these figures are from 10-Ks released this month. From IRIDF's 10 K: Funding Requirements Iridium expects to commence commercial operations on September 23, 1998. Iridium currently estimates that aggregate cash funding requirements from the commencement of development (June 1991) through the anticipated commencement of commercial operations will be approximately $4.4 billion. At year end 1996 and 1997, Iridium had expended approximately $2.40 billion (or 55%) and approximately $3.42 billion (or 78%), respectively, of such $4.4 billion estimate. Iridium estimates aggregate cash funding requirements of approximately $5.3 billion (net of assumed revenues following commencement of commercial operations) through year-end 1999, the last year in which Iridium projects negative cash flow and a net increase in year-end borrowings. At year end 1996 and 1997, Iridium had expended, since inception, approximately $2.40 billion (or 45%) and approximately $3.42 billion (or 65%), respectively, of such $5.3 billion estimate. While Iridium has raised sufficient funds to meet its expected pre-commercial operations project costs, Iridium expects to require significant additional funding after commencement of commercial operations. These projections of aggregate funding needs are forward looking and could vary, perhaps substantially, from actual results, due to events outside of the control of Iridium, including without limitation unforeseen construction, systems integration or regulatory delays, launch failures and lower than anticipated customer demand. From GSTRF's 10 K: Ground Segment. Globalstar purchased 38 gateways under contracts totaling approximately $340 million. Constellation Life. The satellites in the first-generation constellation are designed to operate at full performance for a minimum of 7 1/2 years, after which time the cumulative effects of the space environment are expected to gradually reduce operating performance. A typical gateway is expected to cost between $5 million and $10 million, depending upon the number of subscribers being serviced by the gateway and assuming that the gateway will be located at the site of an existing cellular or other appropriate telecommunications switch. Full global land-based coverage of virtually all inhabited areas of the globe could be achieved with as few as 60 gateways. The estimated capacity of the Globalstar System is anticipated to be in the range of approximately 800 million to 1 billion call minutes per month assuming equal fixed and mobile usage. However, Globalstar's total effective system capacity will depend on a number of variables. The number of call minutes per month the system can support will depend primarily on the total bandwidth available to CDMA MSS systems, the number of systems sharing that bandwidth, the total number of subscribers, the type of Globalstar phones (fixed or mobile) they use and the level of average system availability required. Capacity will also depend upon a number of other variables, including the peak hour system utilization pattern, average call length and the distribution of Globalstar phones in use over the surface of the Earth. As of December 31, 1997, Globalstar estimates the cost for the design, construction and deployment of the Globalstar System, including working capital, cash interest on borrowings and operating expenses, to be approximately $2.7 billion. Actual amounts may vary from this estimate and additional funds would be required in the event of unforeseen delays, cost overruns, launch failures, technological risks or adverse regulatory developments, or to meet unanticipated expenses. Brian H.