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


To: Oliver Schonrock who wrote (3148)2/26/1999 8:57:00 PM
From: Mr. Adrenaline  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 29987
 
My intended use would be something like this:

In my office or home, I would use my land line phone for outgoing, and the CDMA (or GSM in your case) dual mode for incoming on my G* phone.

Out on the road I would use the CDMA (or GSM) dual mode for outgoing or incoming. But when I went to say, a National Park where there were no cells, then I would still be in touch via satellite. And then when I visited say, Europe, my CDMA mode wouldn't be worth much, but I could still be in touch via the satellite link.

The idea is to cover holes in coverage. I know there are holes in (CDMA) coverage around Silicon Valley. You can't tell me Auckland has 100% coverage! What about at the beach, or say a mile offshore?

I think that is their market model for the average user. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.

Maurice will be thrilled to have another bottom dweller on this thread! I know I am!

Mr A



To: Oliver Schonrock who wrote (3148)2/26/1999 10:01:00 PM
From: Drew Williams  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 29987
 
I think you are missing two points.

First, the way the Globalstar handsets will work is to default to the cellular / PCS network whenever possible. So, whenever possible, you will be paying the same low low rates you are used to, except you will be doing it on a slightly larger handset.

My other point is the obvious Swiss Cheese nature of the existing cellular / PCS networks even in relatively dense population centers. I live in suburban Philadelphia and use both the Comcast (using the phone my employer provides) and Bell Atlantic (using the phone my wife's company provides) networks. Holes all over the place, although things are a lot better than they used to be.

The local telco's also see this as a way they can avoid having to build infrastructure in relatively remote areas that will never have the critical population mass necessary to support a cellular / PCS system. If there are only twelve people per square mile, it is certainly less expensive to provide service via Globalstar than to either run copper or build a tower.



To: Oliver Schonrock who wrote (3148)2/26/1999 10:09:00 PM
From: Maurice Winn  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 29987
 
*How to get customers quickly* Well, I'm glad to see somebody else thinks a lot of 'market research' has little value. The Iridium people must be starting to think that.

I agree with the 'start selling now' idea. Asking for the money is the best market research. The 'shall we build this system' market research has been done 5 years ago and we are stuck with what we've got [more or less]. Now it's 'what do we need to do to sell it?' and that is answered by starting to sell it using various techniques and seeing what works best!

Vodafone is off and running, with a plan for $50 per handset tradein offer for a Globalstar handset.

Globalstar handsets are going to have to sell in bulk. They can't be individually sold from mirror-lined display cases with price tags of $1000s and high-priced minutes. There is going to have to be word of mouth and 'I want one of those' type customer demand to get millions sold in a couple of years.

To sell them by way of top account managers talking to individual buyers will be too slow. There needs to be a feeding frenzy to get attention fast. Sure, it will take top account managers to make headway past the village chief system in China, but it will take a lot more than that sales outlet to fill the system with profitable customers. It needs the Village Chief/Top Account Manager type approach AND the "Buy on the Web straight from the production line, ready connected and ready to switch on" approach.

Open up all the distribution methods and see which ones return the most profit then focus on those in the longer run.

But as you say, get these deals and methods rolling NOW! Get the sales committed, deposits paid, minutes booked, contracts signed NOW. I suppose they are doing that.

Put them in shops NOW - even if they are only for demonstration as the satellites come over. Assuming of course that there are some handsets available which there probably aren't because design won't be finished. Timing must be tricky; can't be short of stock and don't want the wrong thing out there.

There is going to be a lot of frantic activity as the 'system going live' date draws closer.

I'd like to see the 'auction on the Web' approach. That's the way to sell a lot of stuff efficiently, quickly and profitably if people know what it is. Check out Dell computer for example though they don't auction their equipment.

Maurice

PS: The snowbound skiers could stand inside by the window instead of outside in the cold. Same for doing business in the rain - leave the car window up or stay in the house by the window.