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

To: Oliver Schonrock who wrote (3208)	2/28/1999 10:34:00 PM
From: Pierre	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

The Globalstar handheld unit can be mounted in a cradle that provides power to extend battery life, and a hands-free operation for convenience and driving safety. Uh .... how come the illustration shows a guy in his sports car holding a phone to his ear? Don't mean to butt in on your question, and I don't have an answer for it, but a few thoughts about customers... It seems many of the carriers are pushing their "national footprint" capabilities. Now anyone who travels even a little here in the U.S. knows this is seriously misleading. However, one can assume from the money spent to advertise the capability, it is perceived by providers as important to the customer. With G* the boast becomes reality - but only if a G* handset is used. The conclusion I draw is that true national coverage is important to cell phone customers, hence making it important to carriers. Carriers need G* to deliver on the promise. Customers want it, providers will see they get it - lots of G* handsets will be sold to what heretofore has been perceived as the traditional cell phone customer. I also think (no numbers to back this up) that national providers will (have already) arrived at practical cost/revenue coverage areas and they fall far short of national. There are so many places in this wide open country that customers in substantial numbers traverse, but can't get coverage. Try I 5 between LA and Sacramento as one example. Hence, customers want the coverage but not enough minutes to justify the cost of traditional cell tower build out. The easy answer is G. I can envision providers subsidizing G minutes in remote areas to provide true national coverage - finding it far less expensive than installing cell towers in remote areas. In short, G* becomes a seamless component of a providers service. Just some California dreaming on a Sunday evening. However, the Iridium discussion about "who is the customer" has forced me to revisit the issue. I don't know what the fixed phone third world potential is - simply no experience there. I think I have a better feel for the needs/wants of the traditional cell phone user. If I'm reading it correctly, he has a satellite in his future. Further reinforcement for me that the G* model, closely allied with existing cell providers, is sound. Pierre