Printer Friendly
The Free Library
4,539,802 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

New Globalstar Gateway Online in Caribbean; Puerto Rican Ground Station Brings Caribbean Calls Home.


Business Editors

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2000

Vodafone Group Plc subsidiaries, Globalstar Globalstar Phone
The antenna on the right is used for standard cellular service. When unavailable, the satellite antenna (left) is pulled up from inside the unit's compartment. The larger antenna is required, because the LEO satellites are 876 miles away rather than just a few miles as with cellular. (Image courtesy of Globalstar.)
 USA and Globalstar Caribbean, the exclusive providers of Globalstar's satellite-based mobile communications in the United States and Caribbean, today announced the opening of a new satellite ground station, or "gateway" in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

The new facility improves access to satellite communications services throughout most of the Caribbean region. Globalstar USA subscribers can now make calls throughout the Caribbean region without incurring international roaming charges. For those customers calling to the United States from the Caribbean, long distance charges are included in their current service pricing plan. Additionally, service is available through this gateway to customers of all Globalstar service providers who have roaming agreements in place with Globalstar USA. The Caribbean region previously received roaming coverage through beam overreach from the Globalstar gateway in Los Velasquez, Venezuela, provided by TE.SA.M. (Telecommunications par Satellites Mobiles).

"With Globalstar, the Caribbean finally has a wireless telecommunications service providing region-wide coverage," said Porfirio Suarez, manager of sales and distribution for Globalstar Caribbean. "Globalstar services in the Caribbean simplify mobile communications here, since obtaining cellular coverage from island to island can be very challenging. Globalstar works clearly throughout the islands and ocean areas of the Caribbean with one phone number and no roaming charges for Globalstar USA customers."

The multi-million dollar Cabo Rojo gateway is the 24th gateway in the Globalstar system and took nearly two years to complete. The investment of time and resources in the development of this new facility demonstrates Vodafone's ongoing commitment to its satellite services operations throughout North America and the world. The opening of this gateway follows the recent initiation of service at the new Globalstar gateway in Ogulbey, Turkey, operated by Globalstar service provider TE.SA.M.

Globalstar Caribbean offers handheld, mobile and fixed satellite phones, accessories and services significant to the regional leisure maritime and tourism markets, as well as local commercial fishing, construction, manufacturing, financial services, agribusiness, and natural resource industries. Through Globalstar, governments and local telecommunications operators with Universal Service requirements now have an alternative for basic communications services to remote villages and low population density areas through payphones or fixed terminals.

Globalstar also serves government, armed forces, public safety, health services and disaster relief organizations requiring reliable communications covering 100% of their sovereign land and territorial waters, and complements existing land-based communications systems. Globalstar value-added services currently include voicemail, with data services becoming available next month. The new Caribbean coverage area includes:

Anguilla Barbuda Barbuda: see Antigua and Barbuda.">Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (ăntē`gə, –gwə, bärbu`də), independent Commonwealth nation (2005 est. pop. 68,700), 171 sq mi (442 sq km), West Indies, in the Leeward Islands. Aruba Bahamas Barbados British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Dominica Dominican Republic French Antilles (including Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, and

St. Martin) Grenada Haiti Jamaica Montserrat

Montserrat, island, West Indies

Montserrat (mŏntsərăt`), British dependency and island (2005 est. pop. 9,000), 38 sq mi (98 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands.
 Navassa Island Navassa Island (nəvă`sə), Fr. Navasse, coral and limestone islet, c.1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea between Haiti and Jamaica. Located c.100 mi (160 km) S of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the uninhabited island is an unincorporated American territory. (US) Netherlands Antilles (including Bonaire Bonaire (bônĕr`), island (1990 est. pop. 11,000), 112 sq mi (290 sq km), in the Netherlands Antilles, West Indies. Kralendijk is the chief town. Tourism is the economic mainstay, though salt mining is also a significant industry. The island is known for its fine beaches, skin diving, and pink flamingos., Curacao, Saba, Sint Maarten,

St. Eustatius) Puerto Rico St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Grenadines: see Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Windward Islands. Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos US Virgin Islands (US)

Availability

Individuals and businesses can purchase Globalstar phones and service through Globalstar USA and Globalstar Caribbean distributors. A list of more than 700 dealer locations throughout the U.S. and Caribbean can be found by visiting our web site at: www.globalstarusa.com, or phones can be purchased directly by calling 1-877-SATPHONE (877-728-7466) or +1-925-988-4499.

About Globalstar USA/Caribbean

As the exclusive Globalstar service providers in the United States and the Caribbean, Globalstar USA and Globalstar Caribbean are responsible for marketing, selling and distributing mobile satellite communication service, including billing and customer care operations, as well as building and operating the United States and Caribbean ground stations, or "gateways," which switch calls to and from the satellite to the land-based public switched telephone network. Globalstar USA and Globalstar Caribbean are wholly owned subsidiaries of Vodafone Group Plc. (NYSE:VOD) and are two of many service providers and partners that make up the Globalstar Limited Partnership (Nasdaq:GSTRF), the partnership of the world's leading telecommunications service providers and equipment manufactures that built, owns and operates the satellite network. For more information visit our website at www.globalstarusa.com.

About Vodafone Group Plc.

Vodafone Group Plc. is the world's largest leading wireless communications company, based in the United Kingdom. Vodafone has mobile operations in 25 countries on five continents, with more than 65 million proportionate cellular customers. Vodafone, through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, is the service provider for Globalstar in a total of 15 countries across North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Southern Africa and Australia. Vodafone has an approximate eight-percent holding in the Globalstar Limited Partnership. For more information on Vodafone Group Plc., visit www.vodafone.com.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2000, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Nov 28, 2000
Words:756
Previous Article:Update on Clean Air Solution for China.
Next Article:Charter Pacific Bank's Continuing Operations Improve 141% in Third Quarter; Improve 190% for First Nine Months; Sequential Growth Continues.
Topics:



Related Articles
El Portal del Yunque. (Puerto Rico's Caribbean National Forest) (includes related information)
!Viva Vieques!
Transgressing Borders: Puerto Rican and Latina Mestizaje.(Critical Essay)
Dance Between Two Cultures: Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States.(Review)
MEET PUERTO RICO.
Out on the island.(highlights of things to do and see while visiting Puerto Rico)
Top 10 reasons why Puerto Rico is the destination of the moment. (Special Advertising Feature).
Experience Puerto Rico: a guide-at-a-glance to the Island of Paradise.(Special Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)
Globalstar sharpens government marketing strategy.(information technology)
Magali Roy-Fequiere. Women, Creole Identity, and Intellectual Life in Early Twentieth-Century Puerto Rico.(Book review)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles