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

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (1179)	12/21/1998 5:01:00 PM
From: Joe Brown	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2693

CORRECTION: Not only Cuba and Libya, but also North Korea and Iraq are prevented from offering IRIDIUM service within their borders, for the political reasons given in the prior post. A correction, however: service is not blocked, technically, by satellite system software; it is prevented by withholding Service Provider status from companies operating within those countries (If Globalstar is not required to place similar constraints on its service, I would be EXTREMELY surprised). In other words, an IRIDIUM phone would theoretically work in Iraq, but it would not be legal to use it there. Just wanted to set the record straight; sorry for the misstatement earlier. Warburg Dillon Read has apparently issued a research note today stating that IRIDIUM has an "excellent" system, should have 35,000 subscribers by end of December and has a 12 month price target of $63. Kyocera still experiencing software glitches that will delay introduction of Kyocera Iridium handsets until after first of year. In-building tests of my phone indicate it does work well inside, though not as well as with a clear view of the sky. Given IRIDIUM's 16 decibel link margin, however, it probably will have a higher in-building penetration than the competition. I have found it works much better in a home (wood frame) than an office building (steel and concrete). Call completion (my experience) is over 93%, dropped calls around 5%, and call quality continuing to improve; each call is being documented in a permanent spreadsheet. Two more IRIDIUM satellites launched today, from China; they will be added to Plane 2 as part of ongoing operation and maintenance.