Major Milestone ‘Tween ORBCOMM + FCC Accomplished

ORBCOMM Inc. [Nasdaq: ORBC] has received a modified space station authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approving its nexgen Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation plan. The FCC also granted ORBCOMM’s request to renew its space station license for an additional fifteen years, extending the term of the license until the year 2025. The modified space station authorization issued by the FCC approves ORBCOMM’s continued operation of the currently deployed first generation (1G) satellites concurrent with the integration of 24 new spacecraft to be deployed in four new orbital planes in the ORBCOMM LEO satellite constellation. The modified license requires ORBCOMM to place the new satellites in operation over the next six years. The license also permits ORBCOMM to deploy replacement satellites over the entire period of the extended space station license term. The modified space station authorization additionally approves ORBCOMM’s request for additional spectrum for its nexgen satellite constellation, expanding ORBCOMM’s uplink and downlink frequency assignments, and adding a new frequency band for downlink operations.

ORBCOMM’s next-generation orbital deployment plan is intended to seamlessly augment and enhance the global coverage provided by the current ORBCOMM satellite constellation. ORBCOMM’s new satellites will use the additional radio spectrum authorized by the FCC space station license modification, which, together with improved technology developed since the deployment of ORBCOMM’s first generation satellites, will provide a substantial increase in the capacity of the ORBCOMM network. ORBCOMM’s nexgen satellite constellation design approved by the FCC will allow the company to implement a variety of enhanced subscriber services, all the while maintaining full backward compatibility with legacy 1G subscriber equipment. The FCC authorization also approves ORBCOMM’s operation of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) maritime tracking signal receivers on all new ORBCOMM satellites—Fort Lee, New Jersey