Globalstar
Encyclopedia
Globalstar is a low Earth orbit
(LEO) satellite constellation
for satellite phone
and low-speed data communications, somewhat similar to the Iridium satellite constellation
and Orbcomm
satellite systems.
and Qualcomm
. On March 24, 1994, the two sponsors announced formation of Globalstar LP, a limited partnership
established in the U.S., with financial participation from eight other companies, including Alcatel
, AirTouch
, Deutsche Aerospace, Hyundai
and Vodafone
. At that time, the company predicted the system would launch in 1998, based on an investment of $1.8 billion.
Globalstar received its US spectrum allocation from the FCC
in January 1995, and continued to negotiate with other nations for rights to use the same radio frequencies in their countries.
The first satellites were launched in February 1998, but system deployment was delayed due to a launch failure in September 1998 that resulted in the loss of 12 satellites in a launch by the Russian Space Agency. In February 2000, it launched the last of 52 satellites — 48 satellites and four in-orbit spares (reduced from the original plan of eight in-orbit spares). Another eight unlaunched satellites were maintained as ground spares.
The first call on the original Globalstar system was placed on November 1, 1998, from Qualcomm chairman Irwin Jacobs
in San Diego to Loral Space & Communications
CEO and chairman Bernard Schwartz
in New York
.
In October 1999, the system began "friendly user" trials with 44 of 48 planned satellites. In December 1999, the system began limited commercial service for 200 users with the full 48 satellites (no spares in orbit). In February 2000, it began full commercial service with its 48 satellites and 4 spares in North America, Europe and Brazil. Initial prices were $1.79/minute.
The Proposed Devas satellite system of India has been declared closed based on a decision of the Government of India in 2011.
On February 15, 2002, the predecessor company Globalstar (old Globalstar) and three of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
In 2004, restructuring of the old Globalstar was completed. The first stage of the restructuring was completed on December 5, 2003, when Thermo Capital Partners LLC was deemed to obtain operational control of the business, as well as certain ownership rights and risks. Thermo Capital Partners, became the principal owner.
Globalstar LLC was formed as a Delaware limited liability company in November 2003, and was converted into Globalstar, Inc., on March 17, 2006.
In 2007 Globalstar launched eight additional first-generation spare satellites into space.
In 2011, Globalstar began laying off employees of their Canadian office to reduce costs and restructure the company. Globalstar is also in the process of moving both their head office and their Canadian call center to Covington, Louisiana
to take advantage of the states' current tax breaks and low cost of living.
The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, simplex and duplex satellite data modems and satellite airtime packages.
In late 2007 Globalstar subsidiary SPOT LLC launched a handheld satellite messaging and tracking personal safety device known as the SPOT Satellite Messenger
.
Many land based and maritime industries make use of the various Globalstar products and services from remote areas beyond the reach of cellular and landline telephone service.
Global customer segments include: oil and gas, government, mining, forestry, commercial fishing, utilities, military, transportation, heavy construction, emergency preparedness, and business continuity as well as individual recreational users.
Globalstar data solutions are used for a variety of asset and personal tracking, data monitoring and "Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition" or SCADA applications.
s. A network of ground gateway
stations provides connectivity from the 40 satellites to the public switched telephone network
and Internet; users are assigned telephone number
s on the North American Numbering Plan
in North America or the appropriate telephone numbering plan
for the country that the overseas gateway is located in, except for Brazil, where the official Globalstar country code (+8818) is used.
Due to the lack of inter-satellite linking, a satellite must have a gateway station in view to provide service to any users it may see. The use of gateway ground stations provides customers with localized regional phone numbers for their satellite handsets. But if there are no gateway stations to cover certain remote areas (such as areas of the South Pacific and the polar regions), service cannot be provided in these remote areas, even if the satellites may fly over them.
The Globalstar system uses the Qualcomm CDMA air interface; however, the Ericsson
and Telit
phones accept standard GSM SIM
cards, while the Qualcomm
GSP-1600/1700 phones do not have a SIM card interface, but use CDMA/IS-41
based authentication. Therefore the Globalstar gateways need to support both the CDMA/IS-41
and the GSM standards, which not all gateways do. This results in the lack of coverage for GSM authentication based phones in the Eastern Asian and Caribbean region, as stated on the coverage map: http://www.globalstareurope.com/en/content.php?cid=300
Most Globalstar providers have roaming agreements with local cellular operators, enabling the use of a cellular SIM card with a Globalstar handset and vice versa.
of 52 degrees. Therefore, Globalstar does not cover polar areas, due to the lower orbital inclination.
Globalstar orbits have an orbital height of approximately 1400 km and latency is still relatively low (approximately 60ms).
It also does not cover sub-Sahara
n Africa
, nor much of Asia, particularly China, due to censorship (see coverage map).
A Globalstar satellite has two body-mounted, Earth-facing arrays. First-generation Globalstars weigh approximately 550 kg, However, the second-generation Globalstar design will gain significant mass.
In 2005, some of the satellites began to reach the limit of their operational lifetime of 7.5 years. In December 2005, Globalstar began to move some of its satellites into a graveyard orbit
above LEO.
on January 30, 2007, Globalstar's previously identified problems with its S-band
amplifiers used on its satellites for two-way communications are occurring at a rate faster than expected, possibly eventually leading to reduced levels of two-way voice and duplex data service in 2008. The company's simplex data services used to support the asset tracking products as well as the SPOT Satellite Messenger are not affected by the S-band satellite issue mentioned above. Globalstar also launched eight ground spare satellites in 2007 to help reduce the impact of the issue.
In the filing, Globalstar made the following statements:
Industry analysts speculate the problem is caused by radiation exposure the satellites receive when they pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly
in their 876 mile (1414 km) altitude orbits.
Until the new second-generation Globalstar satellite constellation is operational, Globalstar is offering its Optimum Satellite Availability T-tool (OSAT) on its Internet site, which subscribers may use to predict when one or more unaffected satellites will be overhead at any specific geographic location.
Most current users in summer 2007 report difficulty using the phones, with very short communication windows of one to two minutes and frequently dropped calls. In addition, an offshore fishing magazine (Big Game Fishing Journal) wrote an editorial in their July 2007 issue on the poor service of Globalstar.
in its Cannes headquarters
, has been awarded a €661 million contract for the second-generation 48 satellite constellation.
The satellites are being designed with a life expectancy of 15 years, significantly longer than the design life of Globalstar’s first-generation constellation.
In addition, Globalstar announced on April 3, 2007 that it has signed a €9 million agreement with Thales Alenia Space to upgrade the Globalstar satellite constellation, including necessary hardware and software upgrades to Globalstar’s satellite control network facilities.
In August 2008 Thales Alenia Space began production assembly, integration and testing of the second-generation flight model satellites, in its Rome
factory, for launch as early as Q3 2009.
In July 2009, Globalstar, Inc. announced that it has received complete financing for its second-generation satellite constellation and signed an amendment to the initial contract, specifying in particular the adjusted conditions for production and the new satellite delivery timetable.
The first six second-generation satellites were launched on October 19, 2010, using a Soyuz
launcher from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan. These second-generation satellites are expected to provide Globalstar customers with satellite voice and data services until at least 2025. Six more second-generation satellites were launched in July 2011.
in the NASDAQ
market. The IPO price of $20 per share was equivalent to $5 per share after two stock splits. The stock price peaked at (post split) $50 per share in January 2000, but institutional investors began predicting bankruptcy as early as June 2000. The stock price eventually fell below $1 per share, and the stock was delisted by NASDAQ in June 2001.
After the IPO, the publicly traded Globalstar Telecommunications (NASDAQ symbol GSTRF) owned part of system operator Globalstar LP. From that point on, the primary financing for Globalstar LP was vendor financing from its suppliers (including Loral and Qualcomm), supplemented by junk bonds.
After a total debt and equity investment of $4.3 billion, on February 15, 2002 Globalstar Telecommunications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of $570 million and liabilities of $3.3 billion. The assets were later bought for $43 million by Thermo Capital Partners LLC.
Globalstar LLC and Globalstar, Inc. When the new Globalstar emerged from bankruptcy in April 2004, it was owned by Thermo Capital Partners (81.25%) and the original creditors of Globalstar L.P. (18.75%). Globalstar LLC was incorporated in April 2006 to become Globalstar, Inc.
Globalstar, Inc. completed an IPO in November 2006. The stock currently trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol GSAT.
product, to be marketed through its latest subsidiary SPOT, Inc., later named SPOT LLC. The SPOT Messenger is manufactured by Globalstar partner Axonn LLC and combines the company's simplex data technology with a Nemerix GPS chipset. SPOT is intended to leverage Globalstar's still adequate L-Band uplink, which is used by simplex modems. The product was launched early November 2007.
Loral's chairman Bernard Schwartz served as Globalstar’s chairman and CEO until May 2001.
The company then appointed satellite telecommunications veteran Olof Lundberg to lead a turnaround at the company to serve as chairman and CEO. After beginning his career with Swedish Telecom, Lundberg had been founding Director General (later CEO) of Inmarsat
from 1979 to 1995. He served as founding CEO and later CEO and Chairman ICO Global Communications from 1995 to 1999.
Lundberg resigned from the company (then in bankruptcy) on June 30, 2003.
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
(LEO) satellite constellation
Satellite constellation
A group of artificial satellites working in concert is known as a satellite constellation. Such a constellation can be considered to be a number of satellites with coordinated ground coverage, operating together under shared control, synchronised so that they overlap well in coverage and...
for satellite phone
Satellite phone
A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites...
and low-speed data communications, somewhat similar to the Iridium satellite constellation
Iridium satellite constellation
The Iridium satellite constellation is a large group of satellites providing voice and data coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated transceivers over Earth's entire surface. Iridium Communications Inc...
and Orbcomm
Orbcomm
ORBCOMM is a company that offers M2M global asset monitoring and messaging services from its constellation of 29 LEO communications satellites orbiting at 775 km. Like its voice-centric competitors Iridium and Globalstar, it filed for Chapter 11 protection, in September, 2000. ORBCOMM issued...
satellite systems.
History
The Globalstar project was launched in 1991 as a joint venture of Loral CorporationLoral Corporation
Loral Corporation was a defense contractor founded in 1948 in New York by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation. The company's name was taken from the first letters of each founder's surname....
and Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
. On March 24, 1994, the two sponsors announced formation of Globalstar LP, a limited partnership
Limited partnership
A limited partnership is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership, except that in addition to one or more general partners , there are one or more limited partners . It is a partnership in which only one partner is required to be a general partner.The GPs are, in all major respects,...
established in the U.S., with financial participation from eight other companies, including Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
, AirTouch
AirTouch
AirTouch Communications was a U.S.-based wireless telephone service provider, created as a spin-off on Pacific Telesis on April 1, 1994. Its headquarters were in One California in the Financial District, San Francisco, California...
, Deutsche Aerospace, Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
and Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
. At that time, the company predicted the system would launch in 1998, based on an investment of $1.8 billion.
Globalstar received its US spectrum allocation from the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
in January 1995, and continued to negotiate with other nations for rights to use the same radio frequencies in their countries.
The first satellites were launched in February 1998, but system deployment was delayed due to a launch failure in September 1998 that resulted in the loss of 12 satellites in a launch by the Russian Space Agency. In February 2000, it launched the last of 52 satellites — 48 satellites and four in-orbit spares (reduced from the original plan of eight in-orbit spares). Another eight unlaunched satellites were maintained as ground spares.
The first call on the original Globalstar system was placed on November 1, 1998, from Qualcomm chairman Irwin Jacobs
Irwin M. Jacobs
Irwin Mark Jacobs , is an electrical engineer and the co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Salk Institute. In 2010, Jacobs was listed as number 828 on Forbes's annual list of the World's Top Billionaires.-Education:Jacobs earned his B.S...
in San Diego to Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff and incorporated in Delaware. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin...
CEO and chairman Bernard Schwartz
Bernard L. Schwartz
Bernard Leon Schwartz was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Loral Space & Communications, Chairman and CEO of K&F Industries, Inc., Chairman and CEO of Loral Corp., and president and CEO of Globalstar. He retired from Loral and his positions at its various subsidiaries and affiliates as of...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
In October 1999, the system began "friendly user" trials with 44 of 48 planned satellites. In December 1999, the system began limited commercial service for 200 users with the full 48 satellites (no spares in orbit). In February 2000, it began full commercial service with its 48 satellites and 4 spares in North America, Europe and Brazil. Initial prices were $1.79/minute.
The Proposed Devas satellite system of India has been declared closed based on a decision of the Government of India in 2011.
On February 15, 2002, the predecessor company Globalstar (old Globalstar) and three of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
In 2004, restructuring of the old Globalstar was completed. The first stage of the restructuring was completed on December 5, 2003, when Thermo Capital Partners LLC was deemed to obtain operational control of the business, as well as certain ownership rights and risks. Thermo Capital Partners, became the principal owner.
Globalstar LLC was formed as a Delaware limited liability company in November 2003, and was converted into Globalstar, Inc., on March 17, 2006.
In 2007 Globalstar launched eight additional first-generation spare satellites into space.
In 2011, Globalstar began laying off employees of their Canadian office to reduce costs and restructure the company. Globalstar is also in the process of moving both their head office and their Canadian call center to Covington, Louisiana
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River....
to take advantage of the states' current tax breaks and low cost of living.
Products and services
With over 315,000 subscribers (as of June 2008), Globalstar is the world’s largest provider of mobile satellite voice and data services. Globalstar offers these services to commercial and recreational users in more than 120 countries around the world.The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, simplex and duplex satellite data modems and satellite airtime packages.
In late 2007 Globalstar subsidiary SPOT LLC launched a handheld satellite messaging and tracking personal safety device known as the SPOT Satellite Messenger
SPOT Satellite Messenger
The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger is a Satellite Emergency Notification Device or SEND, designed to be carried into remote locations where the user may require emergency assistance...
.
Many land based and maritime industries make use of the various Globalstar products and services from remote areas beyond the reach of cellular and landline telephone service.
Global customer segments include: oil and gas, government, mining, forestry, commercial fishing, utilities, military, transportation, heavy construction, emergency preparedness, and business continuity as well as individual recreational users.
Globalstar data solutions are used for a variety of asset and personal tracking, data monitoring and "Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition" or SCADA applications.
Handsets
- Ericsson R290Ericsson R290The Ericsson R290 is a combined GSM and satellite phone using the Globalstar satellite network. The R290 was manufactured in the United Kingdom by Ericsson....
- Globalstar GSP-1600
- Globalstar GSP-1700 (current)
- Telit SAT550
- Telit SAT600
System architecture
Globalstar satellites are simple "bent pipe" repeaterRadio repeater
A radio repeater is a combination of a radio receiver and a radio transmitter that receives a weak or low-level signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. This article refers to professional, commercial, and...
s. A network of ground gateway
Gateway (telecommunications)
In telecommunications, the term gateway has the following meaning:*In a communications network, a network node equipped for interfacing with another network that uses different protocols....
stations provides connectivity from the 40 satellites to the public switched telephone network
Public switched telephone network
The public switched telephone network is the network of the world's public circuit-switched telephone networks. It consists of telephone lines, fiber optic cables, microwave transmission links, cellular networks, communications satellites, and undersea telephone cables, all inter-connected by...
and Internet; users are assigned telephone number
Telephone number
A telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given orally to a switchboard operator...
s on the North American Numbering Plan
North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
in North America or the appropriate telephone numbering plan
Telephone numbering plan
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunications to allocate telephone numbers to subscribers and to route telephone calls in a telephone network. A closed numbering plan, such as found in North America, imposes a fixed total length to numbers...
for the country that the overseas gateway is located in, except for Brazil, where the official Globalstar country code (+8818) is used.
Due to the lack of inter-satellite linking, a satellite must have a gateway station in view to provide service to any users it may see. The use of gateway ground stations provides customers with localized regional phone numbers for their satellite handsets. But if there are no gateway stations to cover certain remote areas (such as areas of the South Pacific and the polar regions), service cannot be provided in these remote areas, even if the satellites may fly over them.
The Globalstar system uses the Qualcomm CDMA air interface; however, the Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
and Telit
Telit
Telit Communications PLC is a global vendor of wireless machine to machine technology headquartered in London . The company is listed on AIM ....
phones accept standard GSM SIM
Subscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
cards, while the Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
GSP-1600/1700 phones do not have a SIM card interface, but use CDMA/IS-41
IS-41
IS-41, also known as ANSI-41, is a mobile, cellular telecommunications system standard to support mobility management by enabling the networking of switches. ANSI-41 is the standard now approved for use as the network-side companion to the wireless-side AMPS , IS-136 , cdmaOne, and CDMA2000 networks...
based authentication. Therefore the Globalstar gateways need to support both the CDMA/IS-41
IS-41
IS-41, also known as ANSI-41, is a mobile, cellular telecommunications system standard to support mobility management by enabling the networking of switches. ANSI-41 is the standard now approved for use as the network-side companion to the wireless-side AMPS , IS-136 , cdmaOne, and CDMA2000 networks...
and the GSM standards, which not all gateways do. This results in the lack of coverage for GSM authentication based phones in the Eastern Asian and Caribbean region, as stated on the coverage map: http://www.globalstareurope.com/en/content.php?cid=300
Most Globalstar providers have roaming agreements with local cellular operators, enabling the use of a cellular SIM card with a Globalstar handset and vice versa.
Satellites
Globalstar orbits have an inclinationInclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
of 52 degrees. Therefore, Globalstar does not cover polar areas, due to the lower orbital inclination.
Globalstar orbits have an orbital height of approximately 1400 km and latency is still relatively low (approximately 60ms).
It also does not cover sub-Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
n Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, nor much of Asia, particularly China, due to censorship (see coverage map).
A Globalstar satellite has two body-mounted, Earth-facing arrays. First-generation Globalstars weigh approximately 550 kg, However, the second-generation Globalstar design will gain significant mass.
In 2005, some of the satellites began to reach the limit of their operational lifetime of 7.5 years. In December 2005, Globalstar began to move some of its satellites into a graveyard orbit
Graveyard orbit
A graveyard orbit, also called a supersynchronous orbit, junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit significantly above synchronous orbit, where spacecraft are intentionally placed at the end of their operational life...
above LEO.
Recent satellite problems
According to documents filed with the SECUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a federal agency which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States...
on January 30, 2007, Globalstar's previously identified problems with its S-band
S band
The S band is defined by an IEEE standard for radio waves with frequencies that range from 2 to 4 GHz, crossing the conventional boundary between UHF and SHF at 3.0 GHz. It is part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum...
amplifiers used on its satellites for two-way communications are occurring at a rate faster than expected, possibly eventually leading to reduced levels of two-way voice and duplex data service in 2008. The company's simplex data services used to support the asset tracking products as well as the SPOT Satellite Messenger are not affected by the S-band satellite issue mentioned above. Globalstar also launched eight ground spare satellites in 2007 to help reduce the impact of the issue.
In the filing, Globalstar made the following statements:
"Based on data recently collected from satellite operations, the Company has concluded that the degradation of the amplifiers is now occurring at a rate that is faster than previously experienced and faster than the Company had previously anticipated."
"Based on its most recent analysis, the Company now believes that, if the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifiers continues at the current rate or further accelerates, and if the Company is unsuccessful in developing additional technical solutions, the quality of two-way communications services will decline, and by some time in 2008 substantially all of the Company’s currently in-orbit satellites will cease to be able to support two-way communications services."
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1366868/000110465907007275/a07-3495_18k.htm
Industry analysts speculate the problem is caused by radiation exposure the satellites receive when they pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly
South Atlantic Anomaly
The South Atlantic Anomaly is an area where the Earth's inner Van Allen radiation belt comes closest to the Earth's surface. This leads to an increased flux of energetic particles in this region and exposes orbiting satellites to higher than usual levels of radiation...
in their 876 mile (1414 km) altitude orbits.
"The S-band antenna amplifier degradation does not affect adversely the Company’s one-way “Simplex” data transmission services, which utilize only the L-band uplink from a subscriber’s “Simplex” terminal to the satellites."
"The Company is working on plans, including new products and services and pricing programs, and exploring the feasibility of accelerating procurement and launch of its second-generation satellite constellation, to attempt to reduce the effects of this problem upon its customers and operations. The Company will be able to forecast the duration of service coverage at any particular location in its service area and intends to make this information available without charge to its service providers, including its wholly owned operating subsidiaries, so that they may work with their subscribers to reduce the impact of the degradation in service quality in their respective service areas. The Company is also reviewing its business plan in light of these developments."
"The Company’s liquidity remains strong. At December 31, 2006, in addition to its credit agreement, the Company had unrestricted cash on hand and undrawn amounts under the Thermo Funding Company irrevocable standby stock purchase agreement of approximately $195 million."
Globalstar's interim solution
In 2007 Globalstar launched eight spare satellites for its existing constellation with a view to reducing the gaps in its two-way voice and data services pending commercial availability of its second-generation satellite constellation, scheduled for initial launch in the second half of 2009. Globalstar will continue to operate its existing satellite constellation to provide and support services until the second-generation Globalstar satellites are available for service.Until the new second-generation Globalstar satellite constellation is operational, Globalstar is offering its Optimum Satellite Availability T-tool (OSAT) on its Internet site, which subscribers may use to predict when one or more unaffected satellites will be overhead at any specific geographic location.
Most current users in summer 2007 report difficulty using the phones, with very short communication windows of one to two minutes and frequently dropped calls. In addition, an offshore fishing magazine (Big Game Fishing Journal) wrote an editorial in their July 2007 issue on the poor service of Globalstar.
Globalstar's second-generation satellites
In December 2006, Globalstar announced that Alcatel Alenia Space, now Thales Alenia SpaceThales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
in its Cannes headquarters
Cannes Mandelieu Space Center
The Cannes Mandelieu Space Center is an industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, located in both the towns of Cannes and Mandelieu in France...
, has been awarded a €661 million contract for the second-generation 48 satellite constellation.
The satellites are being designed with a life expectancy of 15 years, significantly longer than the design life of Globalstar’s first-generation constellation.
In addition, Globalstar announced on April 3, 2007 that it has signed a €9 million agreement with Thales Alenia Space to upgrade the Globalstar satellite constellation, including necessary hardware and software upgrades to Globalstar’s satellite control network facilities.
In August 2008 Thales Alenia Space began production assembly, integration and testing of the second-generation flight model satellites, in its Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
factory, for launch as early as Q3 2009.
In July 2009, Globalstar, Inc. announced that it has received complete financing for its second-generation satellite constellation and signed an amendment to the initial contract, specifying in particular the adjusted conditions for production and the new satellite delivery timetable.
The first six second-generation satellites were launched on October 19, 2010, using a Soyuz
Soyuz-U
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....
launcher from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
in Kazakhstan. These second-generation satellites are expected to provide Globalstar customers with satellite voice and data services until at least 2025. Six more second-generation satellites were launched in July 2011.
Corporate structure and financing
Predecessor Company - Globalstar LP. In February 1995, Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. raised $200 million from its initial public offeringInitial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
in the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
market. The IPO price of $20 per share was equivalent to $5 per share after two stock splits. The stock price peaked at (post split) $50 per share in January 2000, but institutional investors began predicting bankruptcy as early as June 2000. The stock price eventually fell below $1 per share, and the stock was delisted by NASDAQ in June 2001.
After the IPO, the publicly traded Globalstar Telecommunications (NASDAQ symbol GSTRF) owned part of system operator Globalstar LP. From that point on, the primary financing for Globalstar LP was vendor financing from its suppliers (including Loral and Qualcomm), supplemented by junk bonds.
After a total debt and equity investment of $4.3 billion, on February 15, 2002 Globalstar Telecommunications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of $570 million and liabilities of $3.3 billion. The assets were later bought for $43 million by Thermo Capital Partners LLC.
Globalstar LLC and Globalstar, Inc. When the new Globalstar emerged from bankruptcy in April 2004, it was owned by Thermo Capital Partners (81.25%) and the original creditors of Globalstar L.P. (18.75%). Globalstar LLC was incorporated in April 2006 to become Globalstar, Inc.
Globalstar, Inc. completed an IPO in November 2006. The stock currently trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol GSAT.
SPOT LLC
In August 2007, Globalstar announced the introduction of the SPOT Satellite MessengerSPOT Satellite Messenger
The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger is a Satellite Emergency Notification Device or SEND, designed to be carried into remote locations where the user may require emergency assistance...
product, to be marketed through its latest subsidiary SPOT, Inc., later named SPOT LLC. The SPOT Messenger is manufactured by Globalstar partner Axonn LLC and combines the company's simplex data technology with a Nemerix GPS chipset. SPOT is intended to leverage Globalstar's still adequate L-Band uplink, which is used by simplex modems. The product was launched early November 2007.
Employees
The first five employees of Globalstar were transferred from the founding companies in 1991. Although few figures were publicly disclosed, the company apparently reached a peak of about 350 employees until layoffs in March 2001. However, this figure was misleading, as most of the development, operations and sales employees were employed by the company’s strategic partners.Loral's chairman Bernard Schwartz served as Globalstar’s chairman and CEO until May 2001.
The company then appointed satellite telecommunications veteran Olof Lundberg to lead a turnaround at the company to serve as chairman and CEO. After beginning his career with Swedish Telecom, Lundberg had been founding Director General (later CEO) of Inmarsat
Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites...
from 1979 to 1995. He served as founding CEO and later CEO and Chairman ICO Global Communications from 1995 to 1999.
Lundberg resigned from the company (then in bankruptcy) on June 30, 2003.
See also
- Broadband Global Area Network
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- InmarsatInmarsatInmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites...
- Iridium Satellite LLC
- O3b
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