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Doc,thanks for sharing. Anything from Rob is valuable and worth analyzing. And learning goes on and on and on.
Last time I emailed Rob last week (and got no reply yet) I was asking for a "start of the year" shareholder letter. After all we have new management and they are entitled to spell out"their" strategic vision.
Now news until your message pops up with the same concept....
Guess we will get the letter on 12th of February......
Merlin would surely agree to that.
Greatly appreciated, thanks. With Mide taking a long brake, message board down to a few posters a day and the usual uncertainty about what is "really" going on, your feed back feels good and thanks to Rob as well.
Posters including myself would like more info, but... something is better than nothing.
Please keep it up. I remember your message on FSS, Tata and Magic Money some time back. I found it very useful.
During last year I often felt like GTEM was on the verge of a major breakthrough.... and then nothing or little has happened.
The fact that the company has survived this long and that the people that matter are still there, is the only if not the best indicator that breakthroughs are still in the making, that morale has not evaporated and some hard work is definetely going on.
Things have become more intense, made more intense by the unexpected changes, the hiring and firing, the shareholder loss and it feels both inside and outside the company. This includes the bashing and peoples' reaction in general.
I have learnt a lot on this board and right now feel positive about what I hear.
Guess you are referring to Stephen Hawking at:
http://www.hawking.org.uk/home/hindex.html
not bad as a comparison...... and I would love to receive the link to Crash biography by Prof Hawking or is it a polite joke?
Alex thanks a lot for the additional info. Very interesting. And Happy New Year to you!
Connecting the dots, Tokamak, Russia, Kostro, Axel, Vern..... just trying or is it a case of mistaken identity?
But first on Axel's GTEM Russian photos posted on:
http://finance.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/gtempinksheet/photos
I believe them to be genuine and to be proof of proximity, i.e. Alex is/was an insider. This is good for this board as any information is better than none even if info is slanted/biased. The photos seem to indicate that Kostro was an insider with GTE managment at the time of the major "Internafta" fiasco, i.e. well before he took over as CEO. This is positive news (if true) as it is proof of continuity within GTE before and throughout the "cleaning up the house" phase.
Insiders have been a major source of information on this board. Sometimes on selected issues before they vanish: e.g. "Wisdom Seeker" on Rob. Vern the "Aviator" on everything Strat. Now Axel with his/her indepth knowledge of everyting WiMax, DETC, Heavvy Carriers and Internafta and latest toroidal fusion and tokamak.
It may be a coincidence but I have it from Vern that 35 years ago he was working on a "Tokamak" and Axel has just put his signature on a "Tokamak" as he belongs to "the family of toroidal devices for fusion energy where a toroidal plasma is magnetically confined". But what is a "Tokamak" if not a Russian acronim?
Quote from Wikipedia:
A tokamak is a machine producing a toroidal (doughnut-shaped) magnetic field for confining a plasma. It is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices and the leading candidate for producing fusion energy. The term tokamak is a transliteration of the Russian word (toroidal'naya kamera v magnitnykh katushkakh — toroidal chamber in magnetic coils). It was invented in the 1950s by Soviet physicists Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm and Andrei Sakharov (who were in turn inspired by an original idea of Oleg Lavrentyev).
Are we looking here at a case of mistaken/cloaked identity?? No matter what; it is a good mixture of fun, frustration, confusion and hope.
A good way to start the new year.
LOL!
Glow here is the original message from Vern:
Quote"
Posted by: vkoenig
In reply to: None
Date:12/20/2006 9:02:47 PM
Post # of 59339
Did anyone see the link on Yahoo board to a contract proposal between Internafta and Sanswire for a heavy lifting airship? That was a surprise. Jones' name was all over it like Heinz is on a ketchup bottle. I don't understand that at all. "Unquote.
And indeed it is worth asking the same question again. Has anyone seen the link on Yahoo board "on a contract proposal between I & SS for a heavy lifting airship?" Nobody has replied to Vern on this one to my knowledge. But I may be wrong.
May be Santa Klaus is the potential customer....
Sorry Bob missed the deadline for this Xmas.
Got another year to go now.
Until next Xmas
LOL!
To us,
to those like us,
and to GTEM staff
and management(including Rob)!!!!
Imagine SSII 19 (nineteen) times smaller than what it looks at ground level. That if SSII were a flaccid weather ballon, you could, you would in fact.
That is all what we have as lifting capacity from the start at ground 0. But the semi-rigid exo-skeleton hides that fact. As well as the valves needed for the internal re-adjustment.
The external valves though where next to the Hotzone box I would said. Four of them maybe.... with more controls into them.
And the propellers where not in use, throughout the footage... A bit of a disappointment.
The rest is all hot and cold air for the pumpers and bashers.
That is OK for me too.
Vern you have a lot of patience and love. We need you now more than ever until we celebrate.
Now tell us:
Ghana out of the blue....
who is whispering in your ears?
Father Xmas?
Santa Klaus?
Jane Harlow?
We need to start blogging away with
Bob and others
to get rid of the pumper bashers
Come the new year
we might indeed.
And
best regards to OscarMadisoy!!
Thanks
From Wikipedia
"Pachuca has a population of about 250,000 people. The city is located 94 kilometers from Mexico City, to which it is connected by a modern freeway. The city has a moderate climate with average temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. Pachuca has been given the name "la bella airosa" or "the windy beauty" because during most of the year there are strong northeasterly winds that can reach 75 km./hr. Pachuca is an important mining center and has an active commercial and cultural life. Numerous industries are based in Pachuca and the surrounding areas, including automobile parts, ovenware, tools and mining equipment.
Pachuca is not much of a tourist city, but there are a few things to see. The Reloj Monumental (Monumental Clock) is the central clock tower, built in 1904 in the city center. The bell which chimes in this clock was made by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the same company that made the original Liberty Bell, and London's famous Big Ben. There is also the Centro Cultural Hidalgo, ("Hidalgo Cultural Center") which is housed in an old monastery and contains museums, a theater, a library, and a gallery. Pachuca is also home to the Museo Nacional de la Fotografía, the National Museum of Mexican Photography.
In Mexico, a poker hand worth nothing is often called a 'Pachuca.'
Pachuca has one official sister city as designated by Sister Cities International: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States"
Anybody from Harrisburg or Pachuca on this board????
Thanks Sono for "and I know it is not your fault! Mac" and Merry Xmas to all the Hubbers too!
Axel next to Vern you are the second best thing that has happened to this board of late.
You really manage to surprise me (in a positive sense)when you write about Sir Christopher (and when I think of him and his resignation is back to the Brits leaving a spy stone in a public garden in Moscow).
And this from your first post: on the swiss stratxx, and on to Dumas and Klein back in the UK, or chopping to Mexico or the latest from Heilbron/Ramstein.
Gosh you are connected! Keep it up. I advise all boarders to read all your messages. They are factual and informative.
Thanks
Being a father of four, this kind of news bordering on off-topic, really makes me wonder how much we can dig and speculate.
I take it you are sure of the facts and I really feel sorry for Bob and family.....
No matter what happens next GTE(M)could name SSII after Bob's son
Happy Thanksgiving TYA!
Low,
You wrote: “And IMO if the inside takeover entity wanted the original business plan to succeed, they would continue to fund it and fight to support it, not give in to regulatory agencies and start cutting heads & sectors! You can cut costs to produce a more streamlines business, without slashing so deep, so fast. My main goal posting here, has always been to cause the board members to think, to see more then one side of the subject.”
Now let me try another side of the “same” subject that has to do with human nature really.
Try and put yourself in Tim’s or Joe’s (Monterosso) shoes. They are now COO and CTO of the company. Together with BOD they are at present reviewing and rewriting company strategy and business plan. Is this a far fetched assumption?
They have been together through a lot, management has re-confirmed them in top jobs and most important they have accepted and decided to stay on.
Now WHY would they want to do that?
1) Does Tim need the money? - I do not think so
(considering age, ambition and experience he should give himself a fresh start somewhere else and blame the Russians and the Murdoch like inside takeover entity).
2) Would he stay to pursue his vision if the inside takeover entity would be just after big money, establishing a bare bones Telco carrier traffic business and a few shell companies, i.e. giving him BS and no consideration for his vision? Would he not feel deeply betrayed and offended by such an action? - I would answer NO and YES to the above two questions. (And until further notice I would put Joe in the same team as Tim).
3) Never met Tim, but the way Vern (the only company insider on this board) has spoken of his past professional and working experience with him; well Tim is about vision and motivation, professional pride and honor (Yes I want to use these two words from a different planet). – And yes as others on this board have said, having him staying on is the best news for a long time JIMHO. And Low this is exactly why you got in with this company and are still posting here, i.e. Tim’s vision and only Tim’s.
Based on the above we (could) have a situation where the new BOD is ready to save Tim and Tim is ready to rescue the company and the vision, with Joe and others from the old guard giving a mighty hand. Now this implies that there is real understanding and collaboration between the BOD and the newly revamped Executive. Is this expecting too much? - I do not think so.
Timely and accurate SEC filings are a concern, but right now the company is still in war zone and with more pressing problems. I would not read too much into it. Q3 has to and will come out. Also I do not think they have been slashing so deep, nor so fast. Even good old fellah IR Rob has been kept on board. LOL! And thanks for making efforts in using “plain talk” for us commoners.
From the same "subject" angle, a key question now is what is happening to Bob Jones? Has anybody any news?
Agree really happy to see that too. Since Rocky shut down his own site he has not stopped looking this way. He has not given up and could not resist (fishing interludes do not count). And now he is fully back with us at IHub and all stand to benefit. And thanks to Mide for asking first.
Also thanks to Design and a few others for asking Low to get his tinfoil hat to speak "plain" english.
To Low I say that I am starting getting it now. The shorting was the mosts difficult bit to get. In fact still not sure I got it.
But and only if Low is right, it now boils down to content. As some have surmised if the tin foil story is true and the "ownership" game is over the company can/should/must start showing results. Because we are not there yet. And I believe Huff and the team have been trying hard. Again if Low is right Tim must be feeling cheated thrice at least.
By the Russians, by Bob and by HBK papakkkkk
Wonder if he has any friends left.............
Point well taken. And no offense. On the contrary your posts are a "must read" for me and 12.5% for Caterham shares is a small jewel of information.
Thanks Rocky
Thanks Mide. Looking forward to your next posting on your thoughts and opinion. I also appreciate the fact that Rob recognizes you (and Rocky) as "unofficial" representatives of many of us rabid shareholders.....
I am also really eager for an update on FSS and the Indian sub-continent.
By the way talking about reaching out to the many Hub-less poor of this world waiting for the Super Hub to reach out to them.
Prof Mohammad Yunus (whom I had the priviledge to meet a few times while working in Bangladesh for six years) has just been awarded the Noble Peace Price. Graameen Bank, fouded by Prof M. Younus (an Economist) is among other things providing mobile phones to landless women in rural areas of Bangladesh to allow the first ever communication point with the outer world to entire village communities. And allowing the same women an income generation opportunity.
Taking the concept of network revenue generation to pretty out of the way places sometimes lands you with international recognition. Among others Bill Clinton has been a fan of PMY for a long time.
What's in it for GTE(M)? Well if things have gone wrong in India they may still try Bangladesh..... LOL!
In the middle night,GLOBETEL COMM aka GTE, remains on the Stuttgart exchange.... completely left handed still.
GTCA.SG try it: a bit sinister or is it not?
As to the Astrologers Fund perspective: are you suggesting that "Pink Sheet exact starting time of trading for a newly named company" is good enough to characterize a new astrological relationship?
I for one would do anything for a couple of good news from managment.... Including moon serenading. LOL!
Delta Aero Science web site still on...........
Yours was the first message dealing with Delta dissolution
"Interesting,Delta Aero dissolved before AMEX meeting".
on 10.03.06
Mide was able to confirm on the same day
"Rob has confirmed Delta Aero is gone...Extinct. Nothing more."
But I still have no idea where you got the info in the first place.
Given the ink spent on Delta/GTE relationship on this board getting the info suddenly and "out of the blue" leaves me wondering. I am missing something here. No PRs, no Seth, no nothing......
Love to hear more about where you got the info from....
TIA.
Agree and feel very much the same way. Thanks to Vern as well.... just to mention one more name among others. Not a day without surprises really and for what it seems a very long time now. LOL!
Today's Web site hits for GTE and SS on a ratio of 1 to 2.7
at:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main?q=&url=sanswire.com
Site Stats for sanswire.com:
• Traffic Rank for sanswire.com: 1,359,320 (+24,899)
• Speed: Very Fast (85% of sites are slower), Avg Load Time: .8 Seconds (what's this?)
• Other sites that link to this site: 106
• Online Since: 17-Mar-1997
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main?q=&url=www.globetel.net
Site Stats for globetel.net:
• Traffic Rank for globetel.net: 494,639 (-205,327)
• Speed: Not available (what's this?)
• Other sites that link to this site: 65
• Online Since: 08-Jul-2002
Let us float SS on the AMEX instead of GTE. LOL!
Merci Mide
It is good to see that attention is being paid to detail.....
Good proof reading is important.
Hopefully there is more than meets the eye. LOL!
Kevin,
Ref: NASA and GTE collaboration.
What would you make of the following statements?
From your post:
"We also have an agreement with NASA to test our PV to validate the efficiencies. We are also constantly reviewing and testing next generation PV skins that will further reduce weight and cost, while generating more power per square foot."
From Rocky's reply to you:
Subject: kevin, Posted By: Rocky1
Date/Time: 08/18/2006 10:20 AM CST Message #: 1031 of 1047
1)Sanswire chose not to engage the Space Act Agreement for over one year now
2)NASA chose to terminate agreement because it was not being used
3)NASA is not making a statement of rejection but rather a statement of clarification.
4)No affect on Sanswire project whatsoever
TIA
Merlin,
agree with your first point. I have posted a message in that sense after my reply to yours.
Taking your second point a bit further. The difference between the "demonstrator" and SSII is well taken.
The "demo" is there to test things. I like the "shark like appearance" it supports lift. If they are demoening this particular aerodinamic configuration it may point to an improved variant in the shape of SSII. If successfull the "new shark like shape" may be transferred to SSII.
Jim,
the links are clustered, you find one and you can get to the other two. Yes, it looks as Yahoo Spain......?? (Espana Businness >> es.biz.yahoo.com Here are two of the web page addreses:
http://es.biz.yahoo.com/18082006/24/foto/barry-reed-right-chief-of-flight-operations-and-doug-murch.....
http://es.biz.yahoo.com/18082006/24/foto/bob-jones-president-of-sanswire-networks-holds-made-of-carb....
Alicia has reported has having seeing the SSII prototype. If that is the case she has obviously not been allowed to take photos of it.
Having had a look again at the photos (especially the one with Bob holding the frame part of a tail fin) I must say that I am not sure what we are looking at there. I mean the white inflated bag at the back of Bob. It could be the whole gas bag system. This implies that the interior is compartimentalized but not visible to the naked eye.
On the Examiner web page the ranking for the article is high right now:
Top_News
Company tests robotic dirigible for wireless communications
15 hrs ago "Company tests robotic dirigible for wireless communications"
By ALICIA CHANG, The Associated Press
Aug 20, 2006 3:43 PM (15 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 37 of 6,029 articles.
I do not know about USA Today.
Merlin,
Just connecting the dots.
1) We have Huff quoted by Rocky “That is the gas containment system. But to answer the question, yes that is the body of Sanswire II."
2) Alicia reporting that we have “five separate helium chambers in case one leaks”
3) Bob Jones and Vern recent statements that SSII has a “rigid frame with a dual gas bag system with helium cells under low pressure”.
So the one in the photo should be one of the five low pressure helium cells that will fit inside the “exoskeleton” of the ultralight carbon composite rigid frame work.
Also of note from Alicia’s article is that she has seen the beast
“held down by orange sandbags and cordoned off with yellow tape”.
And that
“Unlike the cylindrical shape of a traditional blimp, a Stratellite has a broad, tapered nose like a shark”.
This last stament contradicts the sketch you are referring to in your post: “This is the engineers' drawing of Sanswire II, released with the Sanswire II delay news earlier:”
For those who want to read the whole article again here we go “ALICIA CHANG, The Associated Press Aug 20, 2006 3:43 PM (18 mins ago) at:
http://www.examiner.com/a-231662~Company_tests_robotic_dirigible_for_wireless_communications.html
Now…..what to make of it, besides the exciting new technical info?
Something has clicked and Bob has gone public and the big press has taken on the news and is reverberating.
I am tempted to agree with Vern that Bob and management are hitting back at LM after the NASA announcement of cancellation of the collaborative agreement with GTE, i.e. we are here and we are for real!
In any case the fin is just so incredibly light. These are wonderful photos.
We have at present two threads active on Ihub, the ones that post to say something relevant as usual and a small group that has monopolized the board with an almost “Raging Bull cum Yahoo” type of exchanges. Let us hope they get tired of doing that……..
Original article from the Examiner to be found here.
http://www.examiner.com/a-231662~Company_tests_robotic_dirigible_for_wireless_communications.html
Obviously the description from Alicia Chang (who was clearly allowed by Bob Jones inside the hangar) and the 3 photes from the Yahoo board, do not seem to match.
The fact that Bob is talking to the press is a sign of confidence.
Go GTE!
Quote" By ALICIA CHANG, The Associated Press
Aug 20, 2006 3:43 PM (18 mins ago)
Current rank: Not ranked
PALMDALE, Calif. - Bob Jones has a lofty idea for improving communications around the world: Strategically float robotic airships above the Earth as an alternative to unsightly telecom towers on the ground and expensive satellites in space………….
At Sanswire's guarded hangar, the 125-foot-long prototype named Sanswire 2 is held down by orange sandbags and cordoned off with yellow tape. About 10 employees scurried around to put the finishing touches on the airship before its maiden flight.
Jones' prototype weighs just 750 pounds and contains five separate helium chambers in case one leaks. It is made of tough carbon composite material that gives it a rigid structure like the zeppelins of the early 20th century.
Jones recently returned from a trip to Colombia, saying he spoke with government officials about the potential of deploying Stratellites in the Andes nation......... " Unquote
Q&A on Globetel site have been updated (not sure when)at:
http://investor.globetel.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=67726&p=irol-faq
Still no news from Stored Value Card/FSS in India. And Rob is not amswering my emails..
How many others are going with a rigid frame? Trying to answer your question by joining the dots from a few IHub recent postings/quotes from real “experts”. And yes
1) a rigid frame goes hand in hand with the need to have a dual gas bag system with helium cells under low pressure
and
2) a rigid frame provides and maintains a consistent shape as per antenna array requirements.
Now both SSII and Skydragon qualify for the job, LM blimp definitely does not. Any more takers?
Quotes”
Posted by: vkoenig
In reply to: db_ill_invest who wrote msg# 30967
Date:7/12/2006 3:02:04 PM
Post # of 32670
db: One of these days LMT will wake up and realize that the rigid airship is the way to go....as opposed to the pressurized hulls that they are tinkering with. vk
Posted by: vkoenig
In reply to: None
Date:7/13/2006 1:44:33 PM
Post # of 32672
I wouldn't worry too much about the Swiss putting up an airship. Judging from the rendering, it looks to be a derivative of the SkyStation flop.
SkyStation was a non-rigid airship that would be powered by an ion engine. The biggest problem with that is nobody has ever built an ion engine that could deliver any appreciable amount of thrust. In addition, most ion engines use mercury as the propellant. Can't you just imagine the environmentalists delight to learn that SkyStation would have been spewing out mercury atoms into our upper atomosphere.
GTE's rigid design is the ONLY way to go up high and stay up there for long periods of time. In this fashion, you don't use pressurized gas to maintain shape and structural integrity. Gas cells are under low pressure. When you put helium under pressure, it WANTS to escape and each helium atom can easily pass through whatever containment membrane you use.
Many years ago, I got involved with DARPA in their micro air vehicle program. Lockheed designed a little bug called the MicroStar. It was a classic piece of junk. They touted that paperweight to the tune of an $8M grant from DARPA. One day, Lockheed called me up from Delaware and wanted to know if I would be willing to do a joint venture with them using our FF-1. The reason being: Lockheeds' MicroStar wouldn't/couldn't fly. They told me that they had even tried to launch it with a rubber band..... Are you ready for that? Lockheed, one of the foremost names in aviation, couldn't build a relatively simple model airplane.
I take Lockheeds' attempt at building a high altitude, long endurance airship with a grain of salt. They got $40M from DARPA many years ago and haven't produced anything close to what GTE is doing. And, of recent, had a convenient fire at their hangar in Akron. It didn't completely destroy the facility but was sufficient to cause ANOTHER delay to their program. My question is: After the complete and total dismal failure of Lockheeds' MicroStar, why didn't they repay DARPA the $8M? Can you imagine $8,000,000.00 for a 6" model airplane? Now they've got $40M more to play with. I doubt they will return the $40M as well once GTE's bird takes to the skies. Nice work if you can get it. Vk
The Engineer - Return of the Blimp - May 22, 2006
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/294613/Return%20of%20the%20blimp%20.htm
Sanswire's president, Bob Jones, questioned Lockheed's decision to base the HAA on a non-rigid design. He pointed to potential problems that occur when helium leaks through material because of the small size of the individual gas molecules. "The traditional non-rigid design is a mistake because it means that the envelope itself has to be extremely thick to retain the helium," claimed Jones. "The Japanese in their work on airships have found that already. Those types of non-rigid balloon-type airships are fine at low altitude but even then the helium has to be reconditioned regularly. Lockheed will find the same."
”Unquotes.
WiFi Phones on the NYT today
"The Wi-Fi in Your Handset
What if, instead of burning up minutes on your cellphone plan, you could make free or cheap calls over the wireless networks that allow Internet access in many coffee shops, airports and homes?
New phones coming on the market will allow just that.
Instead of relying on standard cellphone networks, the phones will make use of the anarchic global patchwork of so-called Wi-Fi hotspots. Other models will be able to switch easily between the two modes.
The phones, while a potential money-saver for consumers, could cause big problems for cellphone companies. They have invested billions in their nationwide networks of cell towers, and they could find that customers are bypassing them in favor of Wi-Fi connections. The struggling Bell operating companies could also suffer if the new phones accelerate the trend toward cheap Internet-based calling, reducing the need for a standard phone line in homes with wireless networks."
more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/29/technology/29phones.html?th&emc=th
"You forgot that FSS India just rolled-out the Magic Money concept throughout their territories".
Well I have no confirmation on the above statement except your message so far.
Yesterday I have sent an email to Rob on this very issue as since July the 1st we have no news to the best of my knowledge on this.
Quote"
A lot of attention is going to SSII but Stored Value Cards is another revolution waiting to happen. Today I attach even more importance to this part of GTE's activities. The Strat will fly but it will take time to develop the product. We need something more immediately.
Joint ventures with the like of FSS/Carlyle can speak volumes about GTE standing among the international businness community (Amex as well would pay a lot of attention to this IMO).
We have passed a deadline about launching date of the MM Stored Value Card in India and I cannot find any update.
One more example where the "Company has engaged in a pattern of issuing overly promotional press releases"...
Can you say something about where we stand at the moment on this initiative. And can I share your reply with iHub?"Unquote
Waiting for a reply right now. Maybe Mide would be kind enough to follow this up. TIA
Exhaustion gap versus institutional investors, where do you think we stand since last thursday? TIA
Food for thought from Rocky's Board
Quote"
Subject:DanielleR Posted By:Rocky1
Date/Time:07/21/2006 8:18 AM CST Message #:973 of 973
Whether or not you feel we did not need to apply and get listed with the the Amex 14 months ago is irrelevant. Apparently management had good reasons for spending the time and money in doing so. Because you feel we did not need to list on that exchange does not justify saying we will be better off back on the OTC. Nothing could be further from the truth, imo.
You say we received nothing from the Amex except the unwanted attention from different sources. I don't agree. Yep, GTE is getting picked on and everyone is trying to kill the Company, that was the excuse on the OTC also. The large exchanges are the big leagues and the unwanted sources you stated are part of it. How does GTE combat all that and what has management said in this regard? You prove them wrong with performance. They will keep hammering away until that happens, absolutely no different than the "school bully". They have all had an easy target in the past 14 months. I am not saying GTE hasn't improved themselves but rather they painted a bullseye on their forehead long ago and have yet to remove it. BTW, GTE's institutional investments are in large part due solely to the fact we are on a large exchange. To have the majority of approx. 10MM shares tied up for the long haul is important to GTE and other big board listings and GTE has been trying very hard to increase that number. GTE had very minimal inst. investment on the OTC for obvious reasons and rules.
Because we are having problems with the Amex right now does not justify taking 5 steps back where we were and saying "we are better off here". That simply is not the case and I feel is a total cop out. If a major league pitcher was on the starting rotation for 14 months and sent back to Triple A ball and responded to the press with "this is a better place to be", would be ridiculous...because it's an excuse.
To be "self-funding" by year end will take some exceptional reporting in the next few quarters. I sincerely hope that is the case but at this stage and going forward funding is a necessity for GTE to implement their goals and the quality of said funding will not improve being on the OTC.
When GTE performs as they said they would, you will be shocked to see how all the articles and conspiracy theories disappear. GTE mgmt knows that too and I believe they are the cusp of doing just that. I hope that "performance" happens on the Amex just as GTE hoped it would.
The charges leveled against GTE are serious ones, imo. The "pr's" are only 1/3rd of it... "unquote
Vern "Thanks for coming to IHUB. Been reading your input posts and find the personal take of Mr. Huff and inside experiences with government agencies very revealing. Thanks chuck"
Absolutely agree. Not only revealing, but heartening and immensely important.
An "ex" insider view on realGTE people, gives so much comfort especially these days!
Hearing first hand of a personal second stroke testimony and of the long days and hours and motivation driving GTE staff is the best news one could hope. It makes us shareholders "rabid" and committed as ever.
Go GTE!
PS: (Justfrank hope this second statement of support and thanks to Vern is not deleted as well)
More on "Skunk Works unveils secret Polecat UAV" (A bird flying above the 60,000-65,000 ft band)
Check it out at <http://farnborough.janes.com/docs/farnborough2006/sections/daily/day3/skunk-works-unveils-secre.shtm...
(you need a PW)
Nick Cook, JDW Aerospace Consultant, Farnborough*
Skunk Works unveils secret Polecat UAV
The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works revealed on 19 July that it has secretly built and flown a large, high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has been designed to test a range of new technologies critical to what the company foresees as a ‘third-generation’ of unmanned platforms that will emerge in the US in the next decade.
Nicknamed Polecat, the high-altitude flying wing demonstrator was launched in March 2003 with USD27 million of internal Lockheed Martin funding and was completed 18 months later. It did not fly, however, until last year. Its key feature is an advanced laminar flow wing that confers a blend of high aerodynamic efficiency with a very low observable (VLO) radar cross-section.
Polecat, also known as the P-151, resembles a mini-B-2 but was inspired by flying wings designed by Germany’s Horten brothers during the Second World War. The Polecat’s wing has been “shaped for low observable [LO], but not treated for LO,” according to Lockheed Martin officials.
The vehicle could ultimately lead to a highly stealthy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform to replace the Lockheed Martin U-2 and complement the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk, as well as to “establish Lockheed Martin’s credentials”, as one official put it, in the emerging race between it, Boeing and Northrop Grumman to build a long-range strike aircraft – either manned or unmanned – for the US Air Force.
The one-off, twin-engined demonstrator has a span of 90 ft – as large as the wingspan of a turboprop-powered 50-seat regional airliner such as the Bombardier DHC-8 Dash 8. It has a gross weight of 9,000 lbs and a payload capacity of 1,000 lbs. Critically, it is also designed for ‘contrail-suppression’, a key factor in the battle to add visual stealth to the radar frequency and infrared portions of the LO matrix.
Lockheed Martin officials would not disclose where Polecat conducted its test-flying programme, but it is assumed it flew out of the US government’s secret test facility at Groom Lake, Nevada, the epicentre of most classified US test-flight activity over the past 50 years. The company would not reveal either whether the US Air Force or the Central Intelligence Agency had acted as co-sponsor for the trials, but given that permission of a ‘customer’ had to be sought for the unveiling, the air force, at the very least, is believed to be monitoring the programme closely.
The last full-scale classified aircraft to emerge out of the shadows was Boeing’s Bird of Prey manned stealth demonstrator in 2002.
According to Frank Cappuccio, the head of Skunk Works, the Polecat demonstration programme was configured to give Lockheed Martin an insight into three areas critical to next-generation UAVs: reducing the manufacturing costs associated with new, largely composite airframe designs; lowering the capital cost of UAV manufacture through advanced tooling techniques; and integrating a fully autonomous flight control and mission-handling system that will allow future UAVs to conduct their missions, from take-off to landing, without the intervention of human operators.
The vehicle has completed an initial round of flight-testing and is now being prepared for a further series of demonstrations – most likely with sensors integrated – later in the year. Continuing to explore the Polecat’s performance above the 60,000-65,000 ft band, where contrails no longer form, will also be a key ingredient of the next round of trials, Lockheed Martin officials said.
Eliminating contrail emissions from future high-altitude long endurance (HALE) ISTAR UAVs is seen by the company as an essential ingredient in the stealth-mix of a ‘third generation’ of UAVs that is expected to emerge from a debate within the US user-community that is still some way from being resolved over an all-embracing concept of operations (CONOPS) governing UAVs and their combat equivalents, UCAVs.
Confusion within the community is manifest, observers say, in the rolling series of changes to the US Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) programme over the past four years. A year ago, J-UCAS was primarily focused on a suppression of enemy air defences/electronic attack mission for the USAF; now it is being led by the US Navy, which has shifted its unmanned requirements from an emphasis on ISR to a predominant strike mission.
Polecat technology could lead to two operational vehicles, according to Cappuccio: an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) vehicle with a U-2-like (1,800 kg) sensor payload and a 24-hour endurance; or a long-range strike aircraft with a 6,800 kg payload and a 3,700 km operational radius. He added, however, that Lockheed Martin is still pushing the idea of a supersonic UCAS for the LRS mission, citing studies that show that it would be seven times more survivable than a subsonic UCAS and five times better than the FB-22 bomber derivative of the F-22 fighter.
Polecat is part of a concerted, and largely hidden, technology demonstration programme launched by Lockheed Martin at the beginning of the decade in a bid to redress the industrial balance, after Boeing, Northrop and General Atomics forged what then looked like an unassailable lead to develop first- and second-generation UAVs and UCAVs.
Through its recently disclosed ‘Morphing UAV’ programme, the Skunk Works has already demonstrated ‘shape-shifting’ techniques that will allow future UAVs and UCAVs to change their roles mid-mission – for example, from an extended-wing long-loitering ISR planform, to a swept-wing attack configuration.
Cappuccio revealed that a future step could see the integration of morphing technology with a Polecat follow-on design – the addition of a tail, for example, that could morph from a horizontal into a vertical configuration – to allow a laminar-flow wing to fly and manoeuvre without undue risk in the thin air above 60,000 ft. A morphing tail might also be a desirable feature for a carrier-borne UAV/UCAV, Cappuccio said.
“All these programmes are feeding into us getting into a third generation of UAVs,” he told Jane’s.
Other integrated aspects of the Polecat demonstrator programme include an advanced ground station from an LM affiliate in Denver, Colorado and a fly-by-wire system adapted from the flight control laws developed for the short take-off/vertical landing variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Radar and situational awareness sensors derived from technology pioneered for the F-35 could also be integrated into the Polecat or a derivative in future phases of the programme.
* Additional reporting by Bill Sweetman, IDR Aerospace & Technology Editor, Farnborough
Fully agree straightup. This is another example of what makes this board special. I say that on behalf of us "posters" for sure but.....I have a feeling for some of GTE managment and staff as well.
I keep thinking to myself that if I were working for GTE I would love to have (now and again) a "coffee-time-peak" into this and Rocky's board.
Just like a wheather forecast fan would love to check out the next hurricane warning waiting in awe for the unexpected.
Something like "what is going on out there? Let me just find out the next inconvenient truth".
Well may be Al will take an interest as well. Nothing better than Strats to monitor climate change. LOL!
voz de brasil explained from Tim himself... courtesy of Rocky
Rocky posted this around 4 am in the morning CST. He must be travelling or having sleepless nights because of GTE. Thank you!! LOL
Subject: VozBrasil & iLigue Posted By: Rocky1
Date/Time: 06/11/2006 4:14 AM CST Message #: 863 of 863
The question below was e-mailed to me and is typical of quite a few others along the same line.
"could you please point out to me where someone does not need an
internet connection. I can't find it.
In other words, if I set up my US internet connection with a Brazil
number. The party in Brazil does not have to have an internet connection
to call me.
If someone in Brazil has an internet connection and sets it up with a my
US number I do not have to have an internet connection to call them.
If you check out all the links such as "learn more" and equipment needed
you will find this."
CEO Response:
"The product works with someone that HAS a DSL or Broadband connection or it
works with someone who DOES NOT have an Internet connection. There are two
products; one is a product that hooks to your Broadband connection and
provides you with a phone number anywhere in the world. In the example
above, some here in the US that have an Internet Connection can have a US
phone number, a Brazilian phone number or for that matter any phone number
in any country that they want to have assigned to their IP Box purchased
from GlobeTel. If anyone calls that number, it is sent directly to that
customer's IP box, no matter where in the world the box is installed. If
the customer takes the small box with him on a trip and hooks it up at a
hotel in Hong Kong and then someone calls his number, it will ring in Hong
Kong. It is IP based so it travels with him.
Example two; someone does not have a broadband connection. He/she can go to
our website and get a To Go number. So again, staying with the example,
someone here in the US without internet service orders a number in Brazil
and assigns it to his cell number here in the US. When someone calls that
number in Brazil, his cell phone rings here in the US or wherever the cell
phone is. The Brazilian number can be assigned to any number in the world
so this provides mobility that the broadband user does not have. Of course
all these examples work in reverse. The goal is to have numbers in every
country that can be assigned to any number in the world. So when that local
number is called, it is transported across our network to terminate where it
was assigned. This eliminates international long distance except for the
low flat rate that is paid to GlobeTel."
Yessss to all what you said.
The emphasis is on partnerships, big developing markets, network revenue generation and icing on the cake (with or without) the strat.
Sales and Marketing is Magic at the moment. Who is the guy/lady whizzing around the world to India, Brazil, Germany, China, Mexico.. and on and on. May be it is all done on Ebay. LOL