English born and educated. After leaving school, I went into sales. Later moving to work at a reputable brokerage at the London Stock Market. After 2 years of commuting into London, I needed a change! Went back into sales but I was then getting interested about a new, and, very exclusive hobby, Satellite TV.
In 1984 satellite television for the average household was unheard of, at least in England! I bought a 1.8 meter dish from a very knowledgable Gentleman Rajai Ghazzawi, Oxford gradaute and one of the pioneers of supplying satellite TV to the general public. Although his wealth of technical and practical knowledge was gigantic, sales were still low. After a short span of time, we formed "Global Satellite Systems Ltd". We started a trend of supplying, selling, and installing home motorized satellite systems. At that time we used a 1.2 meter dish, motor and receiver, all for a bargain price of about $4000 and in inventory of 15 channels - only 5 of those were english.
We supplied schools, hotels and mainly the private home owner who wanted more channels then the 4 that were offered at that time. We were successful until the famous SKY launched their new system in the late 1980's, offering 20 english speaking channels. plus a whiole hostof foreign channels. Bacause SKY supplied and installed their own systems, we could not compete. If you can't beat them, join them. So we did!
After going on various training courses, we ran a large region to promote SKY's 14 day free trial. Just was not the same as having our own company. After 2 years my partner moved to Spain while I ended up in Germany. My friend said "You will love working with the Americans", HE WAS RIGHT! I moved permanently over in 1992.
Even though I am a British passport holder, I have the German "Handwerkskarte", which means I can legally work in Germany by installing satellite dishes. I am approved and respected by all German businesses to work with the Americans in regards to satellite television. However,, unlike a German Meister, I do NOT repair toasters, microwaves, washing machines or computers! I specialize in ---SATELLITE TELEVISION.
