FCC Authorizes Globalstar's Third-Generation C-3 System for U.S. Operations — 48 Satellites for Direct-to-Device Service, Launches to Begin Next Year
Satellite communications company Globalstar announced on October 19 that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued an order granting the company nationwide authority to operate its third-generation C-3 mobile-satellite service (MSS) system in the United States. Globalstar is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, and trades on Nasdaq under the ticker GSAT.
Under the authorization, C-3 satellites will be able to communicate with hundreds of millions of mobile earth terminals in the United States, including direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity to smartphones. The order also permits Globalstar's ground station antennas in Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico to communicate with the C-3 satellites. 'Receiving this FCC authorization is a critical step forward for continuing to enhance the capabilities of our low Earth orbit satellite constellations,' said Chief Executive Officer Dr. Paul E. Jacobs.
The C-3 system, notified to the International Telecommunication Union by France under the name AST-NG-C-3, will comprise 48 low Earth orbit satellites operating at an altitude of 1,414 kilometers plus 6 in-orbit spares, supported by approximately 90 six-meter ground station antennas around the world. The satellites are manufactured by MDA Space in Canada, the ground station antennas are U.S.-manufactured and installed in more than 20 countries, and the system will be commanded from satellite operations control centers in Toulouse, France, and Covington, Louisiana. The company says C-3 satellites are expected to launch beginning next year.
L. Barbee Ponder, Globalstar's General Counsel and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, called C-3 'truly a global system' and thanked the FCC and its Space Bureau for bringing the multi-year licensing effort to a successful conclusion.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Delta II 火箭在 Cape Canaveral 发射 Globalstar 卫星（资料图，箭体上可见 Globalstar 标识），公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: A Delta II rocket launching a Globalstar satellite from Cape Canaveral (file photo; the Globalstar logo is visible on the vehicle), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
