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

To: djane who wrote (3272)	3/4/1999 5:54:00 PM
From: JMD	Respond to of 29987

djane, there's always the danger of "thread nepotism" as we each practice our individual versions of singing to the choir, but. . . . It seems to me that with Iridium currently laying an egg (or a few dozen eggs to be more precise), the all too recent memory of "Zenit rocket fall down, go boom" still ringing loud and clear, the always popular "rocket launchers are traitors" theme, and, last but not least, we have the clear and present danger of bananas stirring our French amigos to hold a few launches political hostage--well folks, I think what you've got is enough bad news to explain why G* is flatter than yesterday's soufle'. What's neat of course is that none of this is relevant to Gs potential earnings power which remains awesome. I had the unexpected pleasure of driving by Gs mothership hq's yesterday in Silicon Valley. The satellite dishes outside are big enough to host a soccer game and make for a very impressive sight. It's 401K time: Door A is Amazon with a market capitalization slightly north of South America; Door B is G* @ $15 and change. No brainer says I. Mike Doyle

To: djane who wrote (3272)	3/5/1999 1:47:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29987

Government snaps up satellite phones; company says it's not a solution canoe.ca March 4, 1999 OTTAWA (CP) -- The federal government is stocking up on satellite-based telephones as part of a backup plan against year 2000 related disruptions in the public telephone system. Officials at Public Works Canada say they have already purchased at least 200 of the phones for various government departments planning for Y2K, such as National Defence and the RCMP. Iridium or MSAT phones sell for about $5,000 apiece, not including airtime. Dozens of other phones have also been purchased directly by the departments themselves. Foreign Affairs has reserved channels on the INMARSAT system starting Dec. 20, at a cost of $1.1 million. "It will provide an insurance policy to virtually all Canadian missions and consuls abroad and Canadians travelling abroad," said spokeswoman Valerie Noftle. Al Kingan, director of mobile satellite services at Public Works, says his department is trying to make it easier for government agencies that need a guaranteed phone line to obtain the technology. The devices are operated from constellations of satellites and enable users to make calls from basically anywhere on the planet. But Kingan says the purchases shouldn't be seen as an indication the government expects the phone system to fail. "The consensus right now is that, having done a very exhaustive evaluation of the telecom facilities, that there will probably be only minor interruptions," Kingan said. "It may be in a critical point, you don't know where it's going to happen. You can't afford to take a chance." All the talk of satellite phones and the millennium bug is making manufacturers of the technology nervous, however. "Freedom to communicate. Anytime. Anywhere" is the slogan Iridium uses to help attract investors and customers eager to place a call from the most remote locations in the world. The only problem is that "anytime, anywhere" might not apply to Jan. 1, 2000. "I want to be very honest with our customers and very honest with the government that is going to trust us," Iridium Canada president Maurice Rompre said in an interview. "We don't want to go on the marketplace and say Iridium is the solution. Iridum can be part of the solution." Like most other digitally based systems, Iridium's network also needs to be analysed, fixed and tested for any millennium-bug related glitches. And like the majority of companies doing similar work, guarantees for the year 2000 are out of the question -- even if Iridium considers its system compliant. In many cases, he said, clients calling up are worried about employees stationed in the developing world, where the risk of disruptions to communications infrastructure is high. What is causing Iridium executives to sweat is that they fear their product will be presented as a backup to the regular phone system. Rompre said there is room for 90,000 subscribers in the North and Central America zone, and like any other phone system, if too many people are using it, it will get clogged up. "Iridium has not been designed to be a catastrophic event system. Iridium has been designed to be a global access communications system that serves very limited number of people," Rompre said. "This is not a mass-market system, it's a system for people who are on the move, and people who need to communicate outside existing wireless coverage and public (phone) coverage. "It should by no means be considered as a backbone system for Y2K catastrophe." [Why the hell not?....] Copyright © 1999, Canoe Limited Partnership. All rights reserved. Please click here for full copyright terms and restrictions.