Orbcomm Global L.P. announced its $500 million constellation of 28 low-earth-orbit satellites is complete and able to offer full commercial service worldwide.
Orbcomm has offered limited service capabilities for more than two years on the two satellites it launched in 1995. However, those two satellites were only in view for several minutes at a time, meaning coverage was available less than 5 percent of the day. With the constellation complete, Orbcomm said it now can offer its services anytime, anywhere.
“Clearly, that was only a first step,” said Scott Webster, Orbcomm president and chief executive officer. “This is a real milestone for us. Here we are 10 years later with just the right technology.”
The Little LEO system, as it is called, is a two-way packet-data network for such uses as Internet e-mail transmission, fax and two-way remote monitoring. Target markets include transportation, commercial marine, oil, utilities, personal messaging and government services.
The constellation was completed in September when Orbcomm placed the final eight satellites in orbit, for a total of 28 satellites in five orbital planes and an additional 10 spares on the ground. The company launched 26 satellites this year and plans to launch eight satellites next year to enhance coverage to regions along the Equator.
The network is connected to 14 earth station gateways, half of which are operational. The others are under construction. Operational gateways include four in North America and one each in Italy, Korea and Japan. Gateways in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Morocco, Malaysia, Russia and the Ukraine are expected to be completed next year.
Webster said the company eventually plans to build about 10 more gateways, as service providers in other countries build out their infrastructure.
The gateways are important to the overall system performance, as Orbcomm functions on a bent-pipe transmission technology. Unlike other satellite constellations, there is no satellite-to-satellite communication link or hand-off coordination. Instead it is a store-and-forward system, in which the satellite receives data transmission from a device, sends it to the next available gateway, which then sends the signal via terrestrial networks to the intended receiver. If no gateway is immediately available, the satellite stores the data until one is.
“Our satellites (operate) in a simple bent-pipe system, where messages are bounced up to the satellite and immediately sent to the next gateway,” Webster said. “It’s just inherently more simple.”
Therefore, regions with an operating gateway will receive messages much more quickly than in those without, as the satellite will not have to wait as long to pass over a gateway.
Orbcomm’s distribution strategy is much like that of other mobile satellite service providers. The company has made agreements with 15 regional service providers around the world to sell and distribute the service. To date, those regional providers have service and distribution agreements with more than 115 companies in the 22 countries licensed to offer the service. Orbcomm hopes to obtain licensing to offer services in 80 to 90 countries by the end of next year.
The Orbcomm network uses a wide array of devices made by five different manufacturers, all of which have received approval from the Federal Communications Commission, Webster said. They range in price from a low of $250 to a high of $1,000.
“We feel like that’s one of the system’s strengths,” Webster said. “Moreover, Orbcomm uses an open architecture and invites manufacturers to develop other products using our specifications.”
The company said more than 30,000 units have been delivered or ordered.
Orbcomm was scheduled go public through an initial public stock offering in July, but its investors decided to postpone the offering until market conditions improve. The company is owned primarily by entities affiliated with Orbital Science Corp., which has invested more than $180 million in the venture since last December. The companies include Orbital Communications Corp., Teleglobe Inc. and Technology Resources Industries Bhd.
“We’ve got full funding commitments by our owners,” Webster said. “If they decide for strategic reasons to go public, we may be back. But that is a decision they will be making as time goes by.”
