ALERTS

Globalstar Constellation Status

In February 2007 Globalstar announced some serious issues affecting their constellation of satellites, which in a worst case scenario could result in failure of the voice service within 2008.

Since that announcement Globalstar have launched an additional 8 Satellites, 6 of which are now in position and are operational.  This has resulted in an improved availability of satellites and therefore improved performance. Other satellites continue to degrade at an unpredictable rate and therefore the level of performance of the Globalstar Network in 2008 cannot be reliably predicted.

To help mitigate these issues Globalstar have modified their airtime tariffs for regular users and Globalstar offers a very high value service, for those who can accommodate less than 100% availability.

Plans are in hand for the launch of a new generation of Satellites in 2009, which will operate with current and future handsets. Therefore, existing and new users of the Globalstar Network can look forward to a quality and consistent service from 2009 and beyond.

AST are happy to continue to provide Globalstar handsets and airtime, based on customer awareness of the above issues.