Why is Globalstar the Most Popular Satellite Phone on the Planet – Globalcom

Why Globalstar is the Most Popular Satellite Phone on the Planet

Affordability
Handsets are half the cost of the closest competitor.  Voice and Data minutes are low as 14 cents per minute.  Price plans start at $29.99 a month

Voice Clarity
Globalstar’s use of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology gives secure and high quality clear calls.

Convenience
Globalstar provides the user with a standard North American phone number.  No complicated country codes or special dialing is required.

No Voice Delay
Globalstar uses Low-Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites which eliminates voice delay and echo found with other satellite voice services.

Superior Data Speeds
Globalstar offers the fastest satellite data speed of any handheld satellite phone in the industry.

The Globalstar phone is GlobalCom flagship product.  GlobalCom sells of Globalstar satellite phones are five times more than their Iridium handheld phone.

Globalstar has over 200,000 activated satellite voice and data units.  Globalstar offers satellite service in over 120 countries.

How is Globalstar able to provide such reliable service?

Globalstar uses Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites in an orbit of 1,500 kilometers.  There are advantages of LEO satellites over Geosynchronous (GEO) systems for delivery of mobile satellite services (MSSs).  LEO satellite technology allows the use of a low power mobile handheld and vehicle mounted equipment that can be used while mobile.  The omindirectional antennas used by Globalstar allows the user to be on the move without a disruption of service.  In most of the GEO satellite applications the terminal must be stationary to acquire a satellite signal.  GEO satellite systems are normally 35,800 kilometers above the earth and are commonly used for television transmission, high-speed data, and other wideband services.  Telephone users desire “telephone quality” transmissions.  These users do not want time delay and echo which is inherent with GEO systems.

Current GEO satellite systems have limited capacity for mobile satellite services.  The scare spectrum for MSSs communications requires a system that will provide services to users maximizing this spectrum and provide multiple satellites as well as ground stations sharing this spectrum.  Globalstar’s system accomplishes this with their 48 satellite constellation and ground station network.  The GEO systems presently uses frequency division multiple access-frequency modulation (FDMA-FM).  This technology has inefficient band segmentation to share the spectrum.

In the event one of the Globalstar satellites fail the system will provide capacity due to the rotation of its constellation.  If a GEO satellite failed the service to an entire regions service would be disrupted.

Globalstar systems is able to accomplish this thorough its patented Path Diversity technology.  Path Diversity is a method of signal reception that combines multiple signals over varying strengths into a single signal.  The user can use a signal satellite or use between two to four satellites with this technology.

Using a rake receiver the user can use as many as four satellites simultaneously.  These multiple signals are combined into one coherent static free signal.  The Globalstar phone will alter its power levels to compensate for shadowing and interference.  The average power output is between 50-300 mw.

As the satellites move in and out of view, they will seamlessly be added and moved from calls in progress.  This reduces the number of dropped calls.

Globalstar uses IS-95 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology providing digitally crisp voice and data services.  The CDMA technology assigns unique codes to each transmission and users share time and frequency allocations.  The signals are separated at the receiver by a correlator that accepts only signal energy from the desired circuit.  This CDMA technology allows a large number of users simultaneously to access a single frequency orthogonally reducing interference.  This results in a manifold increase in capacity compared to an analog system.

Globalstar uses a combination of Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) with CDMA and spread spectrum modulation.  This supports multiple users simultaneously.  Globalstar’s path diversity combined with CDMA technology offered by multiple satellites give the customer high quality voice service with fewer dropped calls when calls are handed off between satellites.