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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Globalstar Telecommunications Limited GSAT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2955)	2/13/1999 11:31:00 AM
From: Joe Brown	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

We'll know how many are selling with the Q1 report, and will have to content ourselves with that answer for now; however, the stock price performance will likely offer a clue, as it is exceedingly difficult for good or bad news to be kept completely secret on Wall Street. <How come none in UK?> I'm not convinced that's accurate; the reports we're reading are old news. I believe the logjam has been broken and handsets are being delivered freely now. Incidentally, a lot of the negative reports I've seen lately have been authored by writers whose names have not surfaced in connection with Iridium until recently. I'm always a bit reluctant to accept the sudden appearance of such reportage after a lengthy stock price decline without wondering if short sellers believe the worst is over and that a durable advance is about to start. Just my opinion...nothing more.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2955)	2/13/1999 4:47:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

RedHerring. Venturing into space [No GSTRF mention] herring.com By Stephanie Gates Red Herring Online February 12, 1999 Venture capital is making headway in space. SpaceVest, a Reston, Virginia-based venture capital firm that focuses on the space industry, just announced its new fund, SpaceVest II, with $66 million in capital. Armed with new capital, SpaceVest quickly made the first investment of its new fund in MSI Software. This Fairfax, Virginia-based company develops healthcare workforce scheduling software. Its software technology is derived from an architecture originally developed for spacecraft altitude monitoring and control systems. SPACE-AGE STRATEGY The new fund's investment strategy will continue to focus on space-age technology, which the firm defines very broadly. "More deals and larger deals in the same sectors," says John Higginbotham, founder and chairman of SpaceVest. The company will focus on four sectors within its definition of the space industry: telecommunications, infrastructure, emerging applications (like remote sensing and global positioning systems), and support services. According to Mr. Higginbotham, "We favor telecommunications on the infrastructure side," with about one-third of the investments from its previous fund going to this area. The other favored area is telecommunication services. Basically, SpaceVest is interested in anything satellite-related. Limited partners or investors in SpaceVest II include State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio; Sofical, a subsidiary of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec; and PNC Bank, North America (PNC). The firm plans to add a few more investors to the fund and increase its size by the end of March. STATUS CHECK The Red Herring spoke with Mr. Higginbotham last summer about his firm, SpaceVest, and its investments. At the time, he said that SpaceVest's first two portfolio companies would be going public by the end of 1998. Neither Constellation Communications, which uses satellites for local and long-distance telecommunication services to rural regions, nor Analytical Graphics, which develops operational software for satellites, went public last year. Analytical Graphics did file for an IPO, but chose to pull the offering. "Because of market volatility," says Mr. Higginbotham, "we elected to delay." When asked about Constellation Communications, Mr. Higginbotham declares that he is "not at liberty to speak about the current situation." Exhibiting classic Capital Hill double-talk, he hinted that a positive announcement about the company would be made soon. NO RETURNS YET So far, according to Mr. Higginbotham, SpaceVest has not exited, whether by IPO or acquisition, from any of its eleven prior investments in its first fund. This doesn't bother Mr. Higginbotham, since he maintains that at least one exit is imminent. He also doesn't feel that competition between venture capitalists is a problem in the space sector. Unlike the overfunded technology sectors of Silicon Valley, Mr. Higginbotham says, the space sector's problem "is less competition than an undersupply of capital." It looks like there's room for a few more venture capital firms in space. Satellite telecommunications company Globalstar is one of our top ten stocks for 1999. Investors also seemed to like the space sector at the close of 1998. COPYRIGHT © 1998 RED HERRING COMMUNICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2955)	2/13/1999 4:50:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

7/98 RedHerring. Ventures in space [article on SpaceVest] herring.com IN THE MONEY Recent IT deals and announcements. The Red Herring magazine supplement July 1998 Ventures in space While most Silicon Valley venture capitalists prefer to be thought of as grounded and methodical, SpaceVest has worked hard to gain a reputation for having its head in the clouds. Based in Reston, Virginia, SpaceVest is the only venture capital firm in the nation to invest solely in commercial space technologies. Its second fund has funneled more than $40 million into 11 companies involved in space-related emerging applications, infrastructure, telecommunications, and support services. The initial test of SpaceVest's mentorship should come soon. The firm is gearing up to launch its first two companies--Constellation Communications, which uses satellites to provide local and long-distance telecommunications services to rural areas, and Analytical Graphics, which creates operational software for satellites--into the public markets by year-end. SpaceVest has a rather broad definition of space-related technologies. One investment that the firm is proud of is Currie Technologies, which is designing electric bicycles that will run on the same advanced battery technology used by satellites. Despite some of the portfolio companies' seemingly tangential connections to space technologies, SpaceVest founder and chairman John Higginbotham energetically denies that the space theme is simply a marketing gimmick. "Sometimes we do focus more on the applications that have spun out of the technology developed for the space industry," he says, "but our principals all have a strong background in the aerospace, satellite, or telecommunications industries." Because none of SpaceVest's portfolio companies have gone public yet, assessing the firm's approach is difficult. Six of the companies are being primed for initial public offerings in the next two years, according to General Partner Frank DiBello. SpaceVest's long-term strategy, he says, is to exit one-third of its companies through IPOs and two-thirds through acquisition--a reassuringly down-to-earth goal for a firm devoted to space.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2955)	2/13/1999 4:57:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

SpaceVest report. The Space Industry: Viable, High-Growth Investment Opportunities [End of 1998 date (I think)] spacevest.com The space industry is a major economic sector generating exciting, high-growth investment opportunities. According to SpaceVest's State of the Space Industry - Annual Outlook published in May 1997, the global 1996 space industry revenues exceeded $76 billion. This marks the first year on record that commercial revenues surpassed government expenditures. The report predicts that compound growth in the space industry through the year 2000 will exceed 57 percent. The space industry is currently in a state of commercial expansion. Today, thousands of companies ranging from huge multinational firms to small entrepreneurial start-ups are aggressively applying space-related products and services to the needs of a wide range of emerging markets. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Infrastructure Space Infrastructure includes procurement, production, testing and evaluation of space-related hardware and systems needed for space transportation, satellite systems, and ground facilities. Revenues in this sector are generated by activities such as government funding for space programs, commercial expenditures for space systems, and investments in new applications by telecommunications, electronics, and aerospace companies. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Telecommunications Telecommunications represents the largest sector of the space industry. Hundreds of public and private concerns worldwide own, operate, and utilize satellite systems for a variety of telecommunications services. Satellites, as an integral part of the world's telecommunications infrastructure, provide critical support for services such as long-distance telephony, television broadcasting, and cable TV. In the developing world, satellites are delivering basic telephone service to millions of people for the first time. Emerging economies are using satellite technology to support rapid growth. In the United States and Europe, satellite technology is enabling new services such as personal communications systems, distance learning, and private networks. Growth rates of 20 to 30 percent are expected to continue in many segments of this sector. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Emerging Applications The Emerging Applications sector comprises a variety of areas such as remote sensing, geographical information systems, global positioning, advanced materials, and "spin-offs" of space technologies. By using optical sensors on satellites to generate multi-spectral images of the earth's surface, remote sensing technology has applications in agriculture, mapping, defense, surveying, and environmental sciences. Global positioning systems are used for applications such as marine and aviation navigation, vehicle location and tracking, mapping, and surveying. Healthcare applications comprise a variety of advanced technology areas that have the potential for favorably impacting the cost and quality outcomes of healthcare delivery. Escalating pressures for cost reduction and quality improvement in the healthcare industry and the related restructuring of it will drive all sectors of the industry toward investments in advanced technology solutions to establish and maintain their competitive positions. Space-related technology is being applied toward such areas as biomedical instrumentation; patient monitoring systems; enterprise software systems; disease management, outcome measurement, and decision support systems; network information technologies; and telemedicine applications. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Support Services The Support Services sector is comprised of specialized services such as engineering and technical support, business consulting, finance, and space insurance. This sector functions as an enabler for the rest of the space industry by providing an array of services needed for growth. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Space-Related Solutions Consider a few examples of space-related solutions that are increasingly important to key global markets: Satellite-based telecommunications systems have vast market potential. Demand for personal communications services is booming worldwide. The rapidly-expanding economies of Europe, South America, and Asia face the task of implementing telecommunications systems to meet growing societal and business demands. For the developing world, satisfying the demand for basic telephone service remains a challenge. In all of these markets, satellite-related wireless systems provide a cost-effective and technologically-robust solution to fulfill market demand. Further, space industry solutions are also meeting other critical market needs such as direct-broadcast satellite television, satellite broadcasting for cable distribution, fixed wireless telecommunications, global mobile communications, and integrated content services. Space-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide detailed and precise terrestrial data needed by a variety of markets. For example, farmers use GIS tools to analyze and manage their crops thereby improving crop yields and enhancing competitiveness in an increasingly global marketplace. Insurance companies utilize GIS data to assess claims following a flood or fire disaster. Timber companies, government agencies, and environmental groups all use GIS data to monitor forests. Today's space-based Global Positioning System (GPS) technology enables tracking of objects with pin-point precision--a critical capability with many applications. Transportation companies can monitor their fleets more closely to adhere to tight delivery schedules. Construction companies use GPS to streamline the process of surveying complex building sites. Automobile manufacturers are using GPS to offer consumers value-added services such as location and direction finding, trip tracking, and emergency response assistance. A variety of new products and services are successfully introduced to the general economy from technologies developed in the space industry on a regular basis. These are generally referred to as "spin-offs". For example, advanced fastener technology developed through the space program has been applied to manufacturing to improve productivity and safety. Other examples of space-related technology spin-offs include lightweight structures for construction, portable X-ray machines, patient monitoring systems in health care, and the development of intelligent expert system software in the computer field. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Space Industry Macro-Trends Globalization. The space industry is inherently global by nature. More than 20 countries have active national programs related to the development of space infrastructure, with the United States, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), China, and Japan leading the way. In addition, many developing nations have become significant purchasers of space-related products and services such as satellite-based telecommunications systems and remotely-sensed data. Emerging markets in Eastern Europe, the CIS, Africa, South America, and the Pacific Rim represent significant opportunities for the space industry, particularly the telecommunications sector. These opportunities have led to a number of firms expanding internationally through mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partner arrangements. Deregulation and Privatization. The global trend toward deregulation of telecommunications has given rise to a multitude of new competitors, services, and markets servicable by the space industry. Additional space-related commercial opportunities are being created by the privatization of many traditional government space activities. For example, Europe has established private marketing organizations for launch vehicles (Arianespace) and remote sensing satellite data (Spot Image). In the U.S., government-owned national launch ranges are now licensed to private concerns, and many suppliers of defense-related space infrastructure who formerly sold exclusively to the government are now permitted to compete commercially. Capital Market Acceptance. The financial community is increasingly recognizing the emergence of the space industry as a mainstream industrial activity with powerful growth characteristics. Successful financial performance should continue to attract capital to the industry, thereby institutionalizing the space industry in the capital markets. While capital market acceptance is still not as widespread as for information technology ventures, the financial community has begun to recognize that many ventures with a space component are not as risky as previously thought. Satellite telecommunications projects still remain the preferred space industry investment. Technology Convergence. The convergence of telecommunications and information technologies will continue to fuel commercial growth for advanced "infocom" products and services for a global mobile community. The inherent "look-down" advantages of space-based capabilities will continue to provide an effective means for delivering services and gathering information on a regional or global basis. Government Funding. Space-based capabilities have become integral to the defense community. Continued stability of research and development expenditures for both civil and defense initiatives is expected. Expenditures related to deploying space infrastructure are expected to continue, with a higher utilization of commercially-developed capabilities. This increasing reliance on space assets for defense operations will provide a revenue base for continued space technology development. Emergence of New Industry Leaders. The small-to-medium-sized firms in the space industry generally have been on the forefront of commercial innovation. They often possess the low-cost structures and commercially-oriented market behavior necessary to capitalize quickly on market opportunities and to compete effectively. Given the substantial size of the worldwide space industry and the emergence of numerous commercially-viable niches, many of these companies can experience ample growth without inviting significant competitive response. [ Return to Space Industry Annual Outlook ] [ Return to SpaceVest Overview ] Home \| Overview \| Companies \| Management \| Investment Discipline \| Announcements

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2955)	2/13/1999 5:07:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

He also doesn't feel that competition between venture capitalists is a problem in the space sector. Unlike the overfunded technology sectors of Silicon Valley, Mr. Higginbotham says, the space sector's problem "is less competition than an undersupply of capital." This is an important point. I mean, really, how many more web sites do we need? With buy.com guaranteeing the lowest price (ala Costco) on the web and competitors just a click away, won't profit margins on the web ultimately become negligible?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (2955)	2/13/1999 5:58:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

Economist. BUSINESS. Mobile telecoms. Unbound [Check out the last paragraph] economist.com IF THE flow of deals is anything to go by, there are few more exciting industries than the nascent wireless data market. A flurry of announcements this week was timed to coincide with a big convention in New Orleans. But the message hardly needed hyping. If you combine the convenience of the fastest-growing consumer device in history—the mobile telephone—with the reach and richness of the Internet, you have a technological field of dreams. Working on the principle of “build it and they will come”, nearly all the leading firms in the computing and communications industries are jostling to form the alliances they think they need. Among those revealed in the past few days are: • A $1 billion venture between Cisco Systems, main supplier of the networking equipment that is the “plumbing” of the Internet, and Motorola, a pioneer of wireless technology, to develop mobile Internet products. • Motorola has also joined Nextel, an American wireless operator that chiefly serves the business market, along with Netscape and Unwired Planet, two Internet software specialists. The collaboration will give Nextel's customers an Internet “gateway” and e-mail service. • An agreement between Cisco and Qualcomm, an ambitious cellular-technology firm from San Diego, to develop a high-speed wireless Internet service for US West, a regional telephone company. • A partnership between Microsoft and British Telecom (BT) to create new Internet and corporate-data communications services for the British company's 13m mobile customers spread across ten countries. The industry has been taking shape for over a year. When America Online (AOL), which is the dominant Internet-service provider, bought Netscape in November, it said it was also working with Sun Microsystems on a range of simple Internet-access devices. This makes sense for both firms. The devices will run on Sun's Java-based operating system and will boost demand for the company's big servers, which already power some of the most popular websites. As for AOL, it wants its subscribers to connect to its services wherever they are. Potentially even more significant is the year-old Symbian alliance—a joint-venture between Psion, an innovative British hand-held computer firm, and the three biggest mobile-telephone makers, Nokia and Ericsson of Europe and Motorola. Symbian, which also has the backing of IBM and Oracle, wants Psion's EPOC32 operating system to establish itself as the standard for “smart phones” and other wireless Internet appliances. Between them, the Symbian partners produce 80% of the world's mobile handsets and have close relationships with most of the world's wireless operators. With influence like that, they could succeed. Microsoft's Bill Gates is said to regard Symbian as an even bigger threat to his company than the Department of Justice. Mr Gates recognises that computing will no longer be confined to the desktop, which he controls thanks to the dominance of Windows. That is why he came up with the “Windows Everywhere” strategy to extend Microsoft's reach into both high-end servers and small devices. Unfortunately for Mr Gates, Windows CE, Microsoft's operating system for devices, has met with a generally lukewarm reception, while Symbian threatens to damage its prospects further. That has left Microsoft scrambling to do second-order deals of the kind it has just announced with BT (a venture that does not even commit BT to using only Microsoft's technology). Whatever Microsoft's difficulties, there is remarkable unanimity that the combination of wireless and Internet technology will lead to a computing revolution that dwarfs the one initiated by the PC. Because of their complexity and size, PCs are only used by some people, some of the time. In particular, much of the complexity of PCs is redundant when they are being used to gain access to the majority of services and applications on the Internet. Mobile-telephone and data-networking firms are betting that enough of the things that people want from the Internet can work without a PC's big colour screen. Despite the smaller displays of mobile telephones and devices such as the PalmPilot, users will be able to send and receive e-mails, perform e-commerce transactions and get real-time updates on such things as share prices, travel, weather, news and sporting events. And that is just for the present—or at least in the next couple of years, as services develop and websites learn to adapt automatically to the device which is connecting to them. But the real prize is still a few years away, when “third-generation” mobile networks are rolled out. Although these will not be able to match the data-transfer speeds of the best fixed-line connections, they will easily outstrip most current Internet connections, including ISDN. As well as offering the benefit of being able to receive high-quality streamed video, the devices linked to these networks will be formidable business tools, capable of running advanced applications and shifting vast amounts of data securely on corporate intranets. It is no exaggeration to say that with the wireless Internet, computing may achieve its apotheosis: simple, reliable, ubiquitous and pervasive. According to Motorola, the world has about 800m fixed-line subscribers, 200m wireless users and about 200m Internet users. By 2005, the American firm expects there to be 1 billion fixed-line, 1 billion wireless and 1 billion Internet users. How many of those will be wireless Internet users is anybody's guess, but the field of dreams will be pretty busy.