Even with the national launch of Globalstar’s service, Wall Street still is showing signs of concern over the satellite telephony provider’s future. Earlier this week, Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock, following on the footsteps of Banc Of America’s downgrade earlier this month.

Merrill Lynch lowered its long-term rating to “neutral” until prospects improve. Globalstar may be able to enhance its position by addressing business issues in the next six to nine months, the report said.

Tom Watts, the top satellite analyst at Merrill Lynch, has been one of the most open critics on Wall Street of Globalstar’s strategy of pricing its service well above alternative, cellular systems. Lower-priced regional satellite systems also are rolling out this year that further may erode Globalstar’s customer base, Watts has warned for months in his reports.