Globalstar, Inc. [Nasdaq:GSAT] announced that the second of six satellites launched in July is now operational and processing mobile satellite voice and data call traffic to customers in North America and around the world. The deployment of these six satellites from the second launch is on schedule. The first satellite from the July launch was placed into service in August and the four remaining satellites are expected to become operational over the next few months.
The new second-generation satellites are designed to support Globalstar's current lineup of voice, Duplex and Simplex data products and services including the Company's SPOT retail consumer products. As each new Globalstar satellite becomes operational, service availability and reliability improvements 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 high quality coverage and call completion reliability.
Globalstar is currently deploying its second-generation satellite constellation and launch services provider Arianespace has been contracted to conduct launches of six satellites each. The first two launches were successfully conducted in October of 2010 and July of 2011. Globalstar is currently planning to launch six additional satellites in December.