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To: DaveMG who wrote (17375)	10/29/1998 8:57:00 AM
From: SKIP PAUL	Respond to of 152472

Excerpt from WSJ story on Sprints postponement of offering: Still, Sprint today has one of the nation's largest all-digital wireless networks and is adding new subscribers at a faster rate than most competitors. In the third quarter, Sprint added 381,000 subscribers, while AT&T Corp. added 325,000.

To: DaveMG who wrote (17375)	10/29/1998 9:02:00 AM
From: SKIP PAUL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

October 29, 1998 Dow Jones Newswires Globalstar Expects 3 Mln Intl Subscribers By 2003 By I-CHUN CHEN Dow Jones Newswires BEIJING -- Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. (GSTRF) expects that subscribers of its satellite phone service will reach 2.2 million worldwide by 2002 and three million by 2003, company executives told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday. The number of subscribers in China is forecast to reach 200,000 in 2002 and grow 20% annually, Ming Louie, Globalstar's vice president of Asia Pacific Business Development, said in an interview. The San Jose, Calif.-based company, which opened a representative office in Beijing Thursday, has already completed a gateway - or satellite-to-network connection point - in Beijing. Another gateway in China's western city of Lanzhou will be set up by next year and one in Guangzhou should be up by late 1999 to 2000, said Louie. Globalstar's $3 billion satellite phone system will begin operations in the Americas and in Europe by September 1999, and will start in China, South Korea and South Africa by October. The explosion last month of a rocket carrying 12 Globalstar satellites had set back company plans by three months, Louie added. By the end of next year, there will be 32 operating gateways worldwide and 39 to 40 gateways by 2000, said John Cunningham, Globalstar's public relations manager. Each gateway costs about $8 million to $12 million to construct, he added. Globalstar plans to charge telecom service providers a wholesale rate of 55 US cents to 65 cents a minute, while companies involved in its partnership will be charged 35 cents a minute. The retail price of the service is expected to be $1 to $2, Cunningham said. The company also plans to sell mobile phones allowing both cellular and satellite services at $900 retail. That price is expected to fall to $750 as demand increases, Louie said. Globalstar expects that about 60% of its customers in China will be companies that operate in remote areas not covered by cellular networks, such as transport companies, Louie said. About 5% will be international travelers and about 35% of the company's business will be in establishing fixed-site phones in remote areas with little or no phone lines, he added. Aside from China, the company's other Asian gateways are in South Korea and Taiwan. It is planning another gateway in Thailand and are currently in discussions for one in India, Louie said. Asian subscribers are expected to make up 20% of worldwide subscribers. Globalstar is a partnership of several telecommunications service providers and equipment makers, including Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), Alcatel Alsthom (ALA), China Telecom Ltd. (CHL), Dacom Corp., Daimler-Benz AG (DAI), France Telecom (FTE), Hyundai, Vodaphone Group PLC (VOD) and Loral Space & Communications Ltd. (LOR), which owns 42% of Globalstar. China Telecom, which has invested $37.5 million in Globalstar, is the company's exclusive service provider in China.