Activating a Globalstar/Qualcomm GSP-1600 on USCC

[storkus]

I asked this on the VZW forum and essentially got laughed out--I guess they're very
stringent on what they allow on their network. So now I'm looking at nearby
cellular CDMA carriers, of which USCC is one (Western Wireless, now Alltel, is
the other, both on the A-side with VZW on B).

This phone is a satellite phone for the Globalstar system. But what's neat is it has
an 800 MHz CDMA/AMPS phone in the same device. It used to be you could
activate it on VZW and other compatible networks, but maybe no longer?
It doesn't have PRL capability (AFAIK), and is a very simple device like the old
Nokia 232's for example.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Mike

[Fullstrength]

Verizon doesnt allow anything they dont sell. I really wish they would release the Gsm/Satelitte model in the US, with that all you need is the smartchip.

[storkus]

Originally Posted by Fullstrength

Verizon doesnt allow anything they dont sell. I really wish they would release the Gsm/Satelitte model in the US, with that all you need is the smartchip.

Yeah, I was reading about that somewhere else last night. But the problem is that
the GSM model's radio is spec'd for the Eurasian bands, which means 900/1800.
The design of these phones hasn't changed since introduction and, curiously,
there appears to be zero effort to come up with a better model, unlike with
Iridium.

I also learned last night that G* has a whopping 4 birds out of service and they
put in a petition with the FCC to be allowed to reconfigure their constellation to
40 birds instead of 48! The one time I had a G* rental and tried it out, I learned
real quick a fundamental problem with LEO systems: you'd better have a few down to nearly the horizon or else you'll get disconnected constantly. That
crap with seeing all those birds in the sky at once with such a small
constellation seems to be BS. On the other hand, the price is right...

Mike