MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSAT), a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to businesses, governments and consumers, today announced it has successfully completed hardware and software updates to three ground monitoring control centers, the Globalstar data network and system planning center and has installed satellite telemetry and command unit (TCU) upgrades to seven of its satellite gateway ground stations.
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TCU upgrades were installed at strategically located Globalstar gateway ground stations in Argentina, Australia, Botswana, France, Korea, and the United States. The upgrades are designed to provide Globalstar with the capability to globally monitor and control the orbital deployment of its new second-generation satellite constellation. The first of four launches of six satellites each is scheduled for October 19, 2010.
"The updates to our ground monitoring control centers, data network and system planning center and the TCU gateway upgrades complete the final ground network installation milestones required for the launch of our new satellites," said Peter Dalton, Chief Executive Officer, Globalstar, Inc. "Once our new constellation is fully deployed next year, we expect to once again reliably provide the world's finest quality mobile satellite voice and fastest mobile satellite handset data services to commercial and government customers around the world. Combined with our affordable and award-winning suite of consumer retail SPOT products, Globalstar will unquestionably offer the world's most extensive lineup of high quality mobile satellite services to the broadest range of commercial and retail consumer customers around the globe."
The telemetry and command unit upgrades were provided and installed by Thales Alenia Space, the manufacturer of Globalstar's new second-generation satellites. Four launches of six satellites each will be conducted by launch services provider Arianespace using the highly reliable Soyuz launch vehicle. The Soyuz has been used to successfully launch Globalstar satellites on eight previous occasions. Globalstar plans to integrate the 24 new second-generation satellites with the eight first-generation satellites that were launched in 2007, to form a 32 satellite constellation.
Once the first six new Globalstar satellites are in operational orbit, the most immediate service improvement will benefit those customers who use the Company's voice and Duplex data services. With each subsequent launch, these customers can expect a progressive return to the high reliability and service quality enjoyed before 2007.
The second-generation satellites are designed to support Globalstar's current lineup of voice, Duplex and Simplex data products and services including the Company's lineup of SPOT retail consumer products. The advanced constellation combined with the Company's next-generation ground network, expected to be installed by 2012, is also designed to provide Globalstar customers with enhanced future services featuring increased data speeds of up to 256 kbps in a flexible Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) configuration. Products and services supported are expected to include: push-to-talk and multicasting, advanced messaging capabilities such as multimedia messaging or MMS, geo-location services, multi-band and multi-mode handsets, and data devices with GPS integration.
About Globalstar, Inc.
With over 400,000 subscribers, Globalstar is a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services. Globalstar offers these services to commercial customers and recreational consumers with coverage in more than 120 countries around the world. The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, simplex and duplex satellite data modems, the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ and flexible airtime service packages. Many land based and maritime industries benefit from Globalstar with increased productivity from remote areas beyond cellular and landline 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 ideal for various asset and personal tracking, data monitoring and SCADA applications.
For more information regarding Globalstar, please visit Globalstar's web site at
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release speak as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results or developments may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statements. Additional information on factors that could influence our financial results is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
CONTACT: Globalstar, Inc. Media Information: Dean Hirasawa (408) 933-4006 Dean.hirasawa@globalstar.com Skyya Communications Media Information: Susan Donahue (646) 454-9378 Susan.donahue@skyya.com