Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : IRID - Iridium World Communications IPO Announced! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stitch who wrote (1150)	12/15/1998 11:08:00 PM
From: SoliRA	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2693

Stitch, Your report's interesting. If a less expensive cell phone does the same job for you, then why would you want an Iridium? Iridium would make sense for places where cellular's not available: Antarctica, the middle of an ocean, the Sahara ... mostly places where nobody goes. Small potential market almost by definition. P.S. What's it like in Turkey for cellular phones?

To: Stitch who wrote (1150)	12/15/1998 11:47:00 PM
From: Joe Brown	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2693

I have heard from sources I trust that handset size and price will decline, and analysts predict usage price declines as competition enters the marketplace. You mention having inexpensive cellular roaming capabilities, and with IRIDIUM equipment there is no reason you could not continue to avail yourself of those services; the Motorola IRIDIUM phone is, after all, dual mode. Chairman Ed Staiano of IRIDIUM has made it very clear that the IRIDIUM system, when used properly is, first, a cellular system where available, and a satellite system where it is not. If your work takes you beyond cellular range (your post gives no hint here) and you need to stay in touch, IRIDIUM could be a good solution, despite the current price; the alternative is, after all, NO communication. It is early in the game for IRIDIUM service, but in the calls I've made, the quality is beyond what I expected. My personal feeling is that IRIDIUM customers will presently fall into several categories: Business users who have expense accounts, disaster relief agencies, government users and private individuals who, for whatever reason (travel outside normal communications areas, novelty, etc.) desire the latest in wireless technology. I do not believe IRIDIUM will have any difficulty selling its system capacity. My next datapoints on IRIDIUM will come from using the system in its cellular configuration, and with the bill I receive for services I've used. Having placed approximately 2 hours of domestic and international calls on the satellite system, I will be very interested in the cellular capabilities of the dual mode phone; my phone's cellular "cassette" is due to arrive this week or next. When inserted into the phone (it does not change the size of the phone), I will be able to access my local digital cellular service (at a fraction of satellite service cost) as I would with any digital cell phone. I am also anxious to see the service bill, since this will tell me a great deal about how IRIDIUM handles the mundane side of its service; I expect it will be on a par with the rest of the company's operations - first class. But we'll see. As with prior posts here, I apologize for the length...