ORBCOMM
Announces
Gateway
Earth
Station
in
South
Africa
6
May
2010
ORBCOMM
Inc.
announced
the
commencement
of
construction
of a
Gateway
Earth
Station
(GES)
in
Hartebeesthoek,
South
Africa.
In
addition,
ORBCOMM
signed
an
agreement
with
CSIR
Satellite
Applications
Center
for
the
establishment,
installation
and
maintenance
operation
at
the
site.
The
construction
on
the
GES
commenced
in
early
April
2010.
This
new
GES
is a
terrestrial
link
to
ORBCOMM’s
network
of
low-Earth
orbit
satellites
providing
low-cost,
near
real-time,
two-way
machine-to-machine
(M2M)
satellite
communications.
“The
GES
in
South
Africa
is
filling
one
of
the
last
remaining
key
pieces
of
geography
needed
for
our
near
ubiquitous
coverage.
International
expansion
is a
key
component
of
our
strategy
and
future
growth
at
ORBCOMM
as
it
provides
our
International
Value
Added
Resellers
(IVARs)
and
original
equipment
manufacturers
(OEMs),
many
of
which
already
have
distribution
in
the
southern
portions
of
Africa,
a
new
outlet
to
provide
ORBCOMM
enabled
services”
said
Marc
Eisenberg,
ORBCOMM’s
Chief
Executive
Officer.
“It
also
creates
an
opportunity
for
new
sales
channels
with
local
providers.”
“We
are
pleased
to
have
been
awarded
the
contract
to
build
the
GES
for
ORBCOMM
within
South
Africa,”
said
Raoul
Hodges,
Operations
Manager
of
the
CSIR
satellite
Applications
Centre.
“We
believe
the
M2M
market
in
South
Africa
will
benefit
greatly
from
having
the
choice
and
availability
to
connect
to
ORBCOMM’s
global
constellation
of
Low
Earth
Orbit
Satellites.”
“The
unique
attributes
of
ORBCOMM
make
it
an
ideal
network
for
a
wide
range
of
M2M
applications,”
said
Christian
Allred,
Senior
Vice
President
of
International
at
ORBCOMM.
“ORBCOMM
offers
contiguous
coverage,
which
provides
an
ideal
solution
for
many
mobile
and
fixed
applications
in
South
Africa
and
the
surrounding
areas,
many
of
which
are
under-served
by
terrestrial
networks.”
ORBCOMM’s
expanding
network
of
ground
infrastructure
makes
it
possible
for
VARs,
IVARs
and
OEMs
to
develop
a
product
using
a
single
global
standard
and
enjoy
world-wide
operation
with
a
single
airtime
agreement
and
no
roaming
charges.
