The Federal Communications Commission has approved the operation of a new Globalstar gateway to ensure that enhanced service and coverage would be available with hurricane season approaching earlier than usual this year.

Globalstar expects the gateway to begin operation later today, immediately providing expanded satellite coverage in the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean.

"The opening of the Sebring Gateway is a major milestone for Globalstar and represents a significant commitment to continuously improving service and coverage for our maritime business, recreational and emergency response customers who rely on satellite communications in that region of our North American service area," said Jay Monroe, CEO and Chairman of Globalstar.

"Further, the opening represents another step in Globalstar's effort to continually upgrade our network infrastructure to accommodate a growing number of subscribers and support new applications that use Globalstar voice and data services."

The Sebring Gateway, the company's first newly constructed gateway since 2004, was originally expected to be fully operational August 1.

However, with hurricane season approaching earlier than usual this year, work was accelerated and the FCC application process was accelerated to ensure that enhanced service and coverage would be available in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

The FCC used its power to grant a special temporary authority to enable Globalstar to operate the gateway while the FCC processes Globalstar's application to operate the facility permanently.

Globalstar has a solid track record with county, state and federal agencies involved in disaster relief, emergency response and law enforcement.

Last year, response teams used Globalstar satellite handsets to coordinate relief efforts following the aftermath of the hurricanes which hit the Florida region. Agencies such as FEMA have been long-standing users of Globalstar, in order to provide emergency communications service during incidents around the country.

While contingency communications applications are an immediate need, Globalstar originally conceived the Sebring gateway to serve a burgeoning number of users in the region.

"The need is immediate, not only for emergency communications, but for our customers who regularly use Globalstar voice and data services," added Monroe.

"Some of our most prolific users are in the Caribbean and surrounding areas, including recreational boaters, oil & gas companies and other industrial users. Growth among these segments continues to exceed our expectations, and we focus our efforts to maintain our service at levels our customers have come to expect."

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