Satellite Phone Rates Cut

Vodafone AirTouch’s Globalstar USA unit, which sells telephones and service for satellite-phone company Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd., said it’s reducing prices in the U.S. The cost of the lowest-priced service plan was cut 17% to $24.95 a month. Monthly fees can be as high as $299.95 a month, depending on a customer’s plan. Satellite-phone companies have had trouble winning customers because the phones are bulky and the service unreliable and expensive.

Globalstar Telecommunications shares closed up 31 cents at $10.88 on Nasdaq. Britain-based Vodafone’s American depositary receipts rose $1.25 to close at $47.31 on the New York Stock Exchange.