Globalstar Satellite Phones Help NBC's "Lost" Contestants Stay Connected; New Reality...

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2001

Starting tonight, television viewers across the U.S. will be able to watch contestants on NBC's new reality show "Lost" struggle to find their way home from remote parts of the world, using Globalstar

Filming of the program, which began earlier this summer, has taken both contestants and crews over hundreds of miles of remote territory where no other form of wireless communications was available.

"The Globalstar phones were a tremendous asset to our crews. They allowed each team on the show to call in to our New York headquarters to verify show rules and to share their decisions about how they planned to get back to the U.S. The phones also added an extra degree of safety," said Mary-jane April, co-executive producer of "Lost" and co-founder of Jumbolaya Productions.

The use of Globalstar satellite phones during the three-week filming of the program demonstrates how satellite communications can ease the challenges of working from the field, from virtually any location in over 100 countries. The simple, hand-held phone units require no bulky equipment or stationary antennas, making phone calls as easily as a regular cell phone.

In "Lost," three teams of contestants are taken to different undisclosed locations in various parts of the world and filmed as they struggle with limited money and supplies to be the first team to return to New York City.

Film crews traveling from one country to another, or filming in areas with unreliable phone service, have been using Globalstar satellite phones to coordinate schedules, report to headquarters and streamline all the many tasks involved in filming. Similarly, other broadcasting professionals such as international news correspondents have been relying on Globalstar satellite phones to inform and update their news bureaus from locations where landlines may have been damaged by natural disasters, or where cellular service is unavailable.

Film crews and other broadcasting professionals in need of seamless communications between urban and rural areas can purchase or rent Globalstar satellite phones. Short-term leases on phones were specifically designed for professionals such film crews whose assignments take them to remote locations temporarily. Individuals and businesses can lease a Globalstar satellite phone in the United States by calling Globalstar USA at 1-877-SATPHONE (877-728-7466), or by visiting Globalstar USA's web site at www.globalstarusa.com to identify a rental distributor.

Globalstar is a partnership of the world's leading telecommunications service providers and equipment manufacturers, including co-founders Loral Space & Communications and Qualcomm Incorporated; Alenia; China Telecom (HK); DACOM; DaimlerChrysler Aerospace; Elsacom (a Finmeccanica Company); Hyundai; TE.SA.M (a France Telecom/Alcatel company); Space Systems/Loral; and Vodafone Group Plc. For more information, visit Globalstar's web site at www.globalstar.com.