Orbcomm
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (January 2018) |
US$248 million (2020) | |
Number of employees | 800 |
---|---|
Website | www.orbcomm.com |
ORBCOMM is an American company that offers industrial internet and machine to machine (M2M)[1] communications hardware, software and services designed to track, monitor, and control fixed and mobile assets in markets including transportation, heavy equipment, maritime, oil and gas, utilities and government. The company provides hardware devices, modems, web applications, and data services delivered over multiple satellite and cellular networks.
As of June 30, 2021, ORBCOMM has more than 2.3 million billable subscriber communicators,
ORBCOMM owns and operates a global network of 31 low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellites and accompanying ground infrastructure, including 16 gateway Earth stations (GESs) around the world. ORBCOMM is licensed to provide service in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide.[5]
History
Founding and development of low Earth orbit satellite system
The ORBCOMM low Earth orbit (LEO) system was conceived by Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) in the late 1980s. In 1990, Orbital filed the world's first license application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the operation of a network of small LEO spacecraft[6] to provide global satellite services of commercial messaging and data communications services via the company's ORBCOMM program.
During the initial stages of the program, Orbital pursued a multi-pronged approach: regulatory approvals, ground infrastructure development and procurement of sites, modem development, and country licensing. In 1992, the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) supported the spectrum allocation for non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service. With WARC approval, Orbital set up a specific ORBCOMM program to develop satellites and ground infrastructure, and ORBCOMM became a wholly owned subsidiary of Orbital. In 1995, ORBCOMM was granted a full license to operate a network with up to 200,000 mobile Earth stations (MESs).
ORBCOMM began procuring gateway Earth station (GES) locations and contracted with a division of Orbital Sciences, located in Mesa, Arizona, to develop and build four sets of GESs and associated spares. Land for the four GESs was procured or leased in Arizona, Washington, New York, and Georgia.
After the 1992 WARC approval, ORBCOMM signed contracts with three modem developers and manufacturers: Kyushu Matsushita Electric Company, a division of Panasonic; Elisra Electronic Systems, an Israeli company with expertise in electronic warfare systems; and Torrey Science & Technology, a small San Diego-based company with long ties to Orbital Sciences. Panasonic provided the first ORBCOMM-approved MES in March 1995. Elisra followed with the EL2000 in late 1995, and Torrey Science provided the ComCore 200 in April 1996.
During equipment development, ORBCOMM also pursued licensing and regulatory approvals in several countries. By 1995, ORBCOMM had obtained regulatory approval in 19 countries, with several additional countries well into the regulatory process. ORBCOMM was also in initial negotiations with groups in Indonesia, EMEA and Italy for becoming ORBCOMM licensees and GES operators in their respective regions.
During the conceptual stages of the LEO satellite communications system, Orbital Sciences purchased a small company in Boulder, Colorado, specializing in small-satellite design. This company built the first three satellites in the ORBCOMM system: ORBCOMM X, Communications Demonstration Satellite (CDS) 1, and CDS 2. ORBCOMM X was lost after a single orbit. To validate the feasibility of commercially tracking and communicating with a LEO satellite, Orbital built an additional communications payload and flew this payload on an
In June 1992, Orbital created an equal partnership called ORBCOMM Global L.P. with
Two satellites (F Plane) were launched in April 1995, and the ORBCOMM global mobile data communications network was tested in the summer. Teleglobe Mobile invested an additional $75 million in the project that year and joined Orbital as a full joint-venture partner in ORBCOMM. In February 1996, ORBCOMM initiated the world's first commercial service for global mobile data communications provided by LEO satellites. ORBCOMM also raised an additional $170 million.[7] In October 1996, ORBCOMM licensed Malaysian partner Technology Resources Industries Bhd. (TRI) to sell ORBCOMM's global two-way messaging service in Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. TRI became the owner of a 15% stake in ORBCOMM, Teleglobe owning 35%, and the rest held by Orbital.[8]
In December 1997, ORBCOMM launched eight satellites (A Plane). In 1998 ORBCOMM launched two satellites (G Plane) in February, eight satellites (B Plane) in August, and eight satellites (C Plane) in September. After a short hiatus, ORBCOMM launched seven more satellites (D Plane) in December 1999.
With the launch and operation of the C Plane satellites, ORBCOMM became the first commercial provider of global LEO satellite data and messaging communications services. ORBCOMM inaugurated full commercial service with its satellite-based global data communications network on November 30, 1998. In March 1998, the FCC expanded ORBCOMM's original license from 36 to 48 satellites.[9]
In January 2000, Orbital halted funding of ORBCOMM, and Teleglobe and Orbital signed a new partnership agreement with 67% ownership to Teleglobe and 33% to Orbital.[10] In May 2000, Teleglobe ceased funding ORBCOMM. Like its voice-centric competitors Iridium and Globalstar, it filed for Chapter 11 protection, in September 2000.
New ownership
In 2001, a group of private investors purchased ORBCOMM and its assets out of an auction process, and ORBCOMM LLC was organized on April 4, 2001. On April 23, 2001, this group of investors acquired substantially all of the non-cash assets of ORBCOMM Global L.P. and its subsidiaries, which included the in-orbit satellites and supporting U.S. ground infrastructure equipment that the company owns today. At the same time, ORBCOMM LLC also acquired the FCC licenses required to own and operate the communications system from a subsidiary of Orbital Sciences Corporation, which was not in bankruptcy, in a related transaction. ORBCOMM issued a public offering of stock in November 2006. The company sold 9.23 million shares of common stock.
In September 2007, ORBCOMM Inc. was sued for its IPO prospectus containing inaccurate statements of material fact. It failed to disclose that demand for the company's products was weakening. In 2009, a payment of $2,450,000 was agreed upon.[11]
In September 2009, ORBCOMM signed a contract with SpaceX to launch ORBCOMM's next-generation OG2 satellite constellation.[12]
ORBCOMM launched its commercial satellite
On July 14, 2014, ORBCOMM launched six next-generation OG2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
In December 2015, the company launched eleven
In September 2021, the company announced the completion of its acquisition by GI Partners in an all-cash transaction that values ORBCOMM at approximately $1.1 billion, including net debt. As a result, ORBCOMM is a privately held company, and its common stock is no longer listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.[15]
Acquisitions
Since 2011, ORBCOMM has acquired several companies including:
- StarTrak Systems
- PAR Logistics Management Systems
- MobileNet
- GlobalTrak
- SENS Asset Tracking
- Euroscan[16]
- InSync Software
- SkyWave Mobile Communications[17]
- WAM Technologies
- Skygistics
- Inthinc
- Blue Tree Systems[18][19]
Satellites
The first-generation OG1 satellites each weigh 42 kg (93 lb).
Each satellite has a 56 kbit/s
ORBCOMM Global launched 35 satellites in the mid to late 1990s. Of the original 35, 24 remain operational today, according to company filings. The plane F polar satellite, one of the original prototype first-generation satellites launched in 1995, was retired in April 2007 due to intermittent service. Two additional satellites (one from each of Plane B and Plane D) were retired in 2008 also due to intermittent service. The other five satellites that are not operational experienced failures earlier. The absence of these eight satellites can increase system latency and decrease overall capacity. ORBCOMM has invested in replacement satellites as the first generation is at or nearing end of life. On 19 June 2008, six additional ORBCOMM satellites were launched with the
OG2
On 3 September 2009, a deal was announced between ORBCOMM and
On July 14, 2014, ORBCOMM launched six next-generation OG2 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. In September 2014, ORBCOMM announced that, after in-orbit testing, the six satellites had been properly spaced within their orbital planes and were processing over 20% of the network's M2M traffic.[33] In June 2015, the company lost communication with one of the in-orbit OG2 satellites. The company recorded an impairment charge of $12.7 million to write off the net book value of this satellite as of June 30, 2015. The company stated that the loss of this one satellite is not expected to have a material adverse effect on network communications services.[34]
In October 2015, the company announced that SpaceX plans to launch eleven OG2 satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on the next launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites were deployed on December 21, 2015.[35] This dedicated launch marked ORBCOMM's second and final OG2 mission to complete its next-generation satellite constellation.[36]
Compared to its current OG1 satellites, ORBCOMM's OG2 satellites are designed for faster message delivery, larger message sizes, and better coverage at higher latitudes, while increasing network capacity. In addition, the OG2 satellites are equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) payload to receive and report transmissions from AIS-equipped vessels for ship tracking and other maritime navigational and safety efforts.[37]
Frequency range | Downlink | 137–138 MHz |
---|---|---|
Uplink | 148–150.05 MHz |
Network services
ORBCOMM provides satellite data services. As of May 2016, ORBCOMM has more than 1.6 million billable subscriber communicators., Italy, Australia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia. Plans for additional ground station locations are underway.
The ORBCOMM satellite network best suits users who send small amounts of data. To avoid interference, terminals are not permitted to be active more than 1% of the time, and thus they may only execute a 450 ms data burst twice every fifteen minutes. The latency inherent in ORBCOMM's network design prevents it from supporting certain safety-critical applications.
ORBCOMM's acquisition of SkyWave Mobile Communications in January 2015 gave the company access to higher bandwidth, lower-latency satellite products and services that leverage IsatData Pro (IDP) technology over Inmarsat's global L-band satellite network.
ORBCOMM's direct competition includes Globalstar's simplex services (which ORBCOMM also resells) and L-band leased capacity services such as those offered by SkyBitz. ORBCOMM's most significant competitor is Iridium Communications, which offers the Iridium SBD service, which features data packet, latency, and antenna capabilities similar to that of IDP technology, which is now jointly owned by ORBCOMM and Inmarsat.
ORBCOMM satellite services can be easily integrated with business applications. Customer data can be retrieved or auto-forwarded via
ORBCOMM also partners with seven different cellular providers to offer wireless connectivity, cellular airtime data plans, and SIM cards for M2M and IoT applications.[40]
ORBCOMM's other network service business is
Military Contracting
On December 10, 2020, US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, contracted ORBCOMM for transponders.[42]
See also
- Mobile-satellite service
- Satellite phone
- Globalstar
- Globalsat Group
- Gonets
- Gurtam
- ICO Global Communications
- Inmarsat
- Iridium Satellite LLC
- O3b Networks
- Solaris Mobile
- Sky and Space Global
- SkyTerra
- SkyWave Mobile Communications
- TerreStar Corporation
References
- ^ ORBCOMM.com
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Second Quarter 2021 Results
- ^ J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Selects ORBCOMM for End-to-End, Fleet-Wide Asset Tracking and Monitoring Solution
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Third Quarter 2015 Results
- ^ ORBCOMM and Morsviazsputnik to Offer IDP Service in Russia
- ^ "Orbital Sciences Corporation History".
- ^ "Orbital Sciences Corporation History". fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
- ^ TRI Acquires License to Sell Orbcomm Messaging Service.
- ^ Orbcomm Communications Satellite Network Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Orbcomm Communications Satellite Network Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Class Action Lawsuit Against ORBCOMM" (PDF). 2013-12-12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-12.
- ^ ORBCOMM and SpaceX Reach Deal to Launch Satellite Constellation.
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces First Global AIS Distribution Agreement.
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Launch Window for Second OG2 Mission.
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Completion of Acquisition by GI Partners.
- ^ ORBCOMM Acquires Euroscan, Europe’s Leading M2M Provider of Refrigerated Transportation Solutions
- ^ ORBCOMM Completes Acquisition of SkyWave
- ^ Orbcomm acquires Blue Tree Systems; expands in-cab and trailer telematics offerings
- ^ FMCSA ELD Implementation Timeline
- ISBN 978-3-319-23386-4, retrieved 2022-09-13
- ^ "SEC Info".
- ^ OHB-System milestones
- ^ OHB-System missions Archived 2008-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "ORBCOMM Europe - News". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24.
- ^ Orbcomm failures
- ^ "Form 10-Q".
- ^ Space News
- ^ "Orbcomm and SpaceX Reach Deal to Launch Satellite Constellation". SpaceX. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "Orbcomm and SpaceX Set Plans to Launch Satellites on Next Falcon 9 Launch". Reuters. 2011-03-14. Archived from the original on 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ "SpaceX rocket glitch puts satellite in wrong orbit". Reuters. 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
- ^ "Orbcomm Press Release". Securities and Exchange Commission. Orbcomm. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ^ "SpaceX Engine Failure Claims Experimental Satellite". Wired. 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
- ^ ORBCOMM Launches Commercial Service for First Six OG2 Satellites
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Second Quarter 2015 Results
- ^ "Wow! SpaceX Lands Orbital Rocket Successfully in Historic First". Space.com. 22 December 2015.
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Launch Window for Second OG2 Mission
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces Launch Window for Second OG2 Mission
- ^ ORBCOMM Announces First Quarter 2016 Results.
- ^ Our Technology Ground Segment.
- ^ ORBCOMM Cellular M2M Network Coverage.
- ^ ORBCOMM Satellite AIS.
- ^ "Contracts for December 10, 2020". U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. Retrieved 2021-01-26.