General Partner, Globalstar LP
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| News For Immediate Release |
| Contact: John Cunningham, Globalstar, L.P., 1+408.933.4434 Dirk Hinze, Schlumberger, +33.1.47.46.79.50 |
Globalstar Awards World's First LEO
Satellite Payphone Contract to Schlumberger
CANNES, France -- February 23, 1999 -- Globalstar, L.P. (NASDAQ:GSTRF) announced today the award of the world's first low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite payphone contract to Schlumberger, the world's foremost supplier of smart-card-based payphones and services. This contract enables Schlumberger to provide a turnkey satellite payphone solution for Globalstar service providers.
"We are very pleased to be aligned with Schlumberger," said Gerry Canavan, senior vice president of marketing at Globalstar. "This relationship will allow both Schlumberger and Globalstar to access new payphone services markets around the globe."
"Schlumberger will offer a turnkey solution for Globalstar and its service providers, supplying all indoor and outdoor satellite payphones and providing all services for their installation and their support," said Paul Lenfant, Globalstar project manager for Schlumberger. "The innovative smart-card-based payphones will be especially beneficial in the remote areas of the world which have not yet been reached by phone lines, or where they may be uneconomical to install."
Located in villages as small as a few hundred people, the Globalstar payphones will be available either in outdoor phone booths or as counter-top units that can be installed at a local store. The Globalstar fixed-site payphones include a roof-mounted radio antenna unit to be installed outdoors with a clear view of the sky, an outdoor junction box, and a payphone like that used in traditional smart card-based wireline service. They are equipped with a special security device against line tapping. The payphones may be powered through a combination of power sources, including standard connections, battery and solar power.
Globalstar is the next generation provider of mobile satellite personal communications services. The Globalstar system, comprising 48 LEO satellites and a global network of ground stations, will provide people around the world with fixed-phone and hand-held mobile satellite phone services, as well as data transmission (at up to 9.6 kilobits per second), messaging, facsimile and position location services.
Globalstar is designed to provide cost-effective, high-quality mobile satellite services to customers around the world. Its use of advanced CDMA technology ensures superior voice quality, and its system routes calls through multiple satellites simultaneously, minimizing dropped calls and maximizing completed calls. Globalstar has been conducting handset tests since April 1998 via the satellites it currently has in orbit, and expects to begin the progressive rollout of commercial services in the third quarter of 1999.
Globalstar now has service provider agreements in more than 100 countries, covering 90 percent of Globalstar's business plan. Six Globalstar gateways are being used to control and test the satellite system, and site work and construction is under way at 20 more gateway sites around the world.
Schlumberger Smart Cards & Terminals is the leading provider of smart card-based solutions worldwide, shaping the new world of smart solutions by providing leading-edge technology to enable innovative smart card and terminal applications that enhance the security and convenience of businesses and communities of all kinds. Schlumberger smart card solutions encompass a wide range of cards, terminals, development tools and support in open configurations for operators, developers, integrators and distributors worldwide. The Smart Cards & Terminals group operates 45 facilities in 34 countries across the globe. Additional information is available on the World Wide Web at www.slb.com/smartcards.
Schlumberger Test & Transactions comprises Schlumberger Smart Cards & Terminals and Schlumberger Automated Test Equipment, leveraging the combined strengths of these two business units to provide leading-edge, cost-effective solutions to customers. Schlumberger Test & Transactions is a business unit of Schlumberger Limited, a $11.8 billion global technology service company providing oilfield services, natural resources management, transactions-based technology and associated systems, and semiconductor test equipment.
Globalstar, led by founding partner Loral Space & Communications, is a partnership of the world's leading telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers, and includes Qualcomm Incorporated, AirTouch Communications, Alcatel, Alenia, China Telecom (HK), DACOM, Daimler-Benz Aerospace, Elsacom (a Finmeccanica/Elsag Bailey Company), TE.SA.M. (A company of France Telecom Group [51% and Alcatel (49%]), Hyundai, Space Systems/Loral and Vodafone. For more information, visit Globalstar's web site at www.globalstar.com.
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