Globalstar announced on October 19, 2026, that the Federal Communications Commission had authorized U.S. operation of its third-generation C-3 mobile satellite system. According to the company’s authorization announcement, the authorization covers communications with mobile terminals, including smartphones, and with ground-station antennas in Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
C-3 is designed for direct-to-device communications, in which a compatible phone communicates with a satellite. Globalstar plans 48 operating satellites and six orbital spares at an altitude of 1,414 kilometers. Its ground infrastructure will include approximately 90 antennas, each six meters across, in more than 20 countries. Control centers in Covington, Louisiana, and Toulouse, France, will command the constellation.
MDA Space is manufacturing the spacecraft in Canada. In February 2025, the company announced a satellite manufacturing contract worth approximately C$1.1 billion to build more than 50 software-defined digital satellites using its MDA AURORA product line. The contract followed an initial authorization to proceed announced in November 2023.
The manufacturing agreement also clarifies the funding sequence. MDA said approximately C$350 million had already entered its order backlog under the earlier authorization, with approximately C$750 million added under the definitive agreement. Those amounts form the approximately C$1.1 billion contract total; the later amount is not an additional contract of that size.
Globalstar’s existing work with Apple explains the role of ground infrastructure in a direct satellite connection. In November 2022, Apple described how Emergency SOS messages traveled from an iPhone to a Globalstar satellite, then to a ground station. The ground network routed the message to emergency services or to an Apple-trained relay team when the local emergency service could not receive text messages.
Apple announced a $450 million infrastructure investment supporting that service, with most of the funding going to Globalstar. The investment included upgrades and expansion at U.S. ground stations. That earlier system provides context for the satellite-to-ground links covered by the C-3 authorization.
Direct-to-device services extend communications beyond terrestrial coverage. New Space Economy’s explanation of satellite communications markets distinguishes phone-based messaging and emergency connectivity from broadband services requiring other equipment. The service delivered depends on the network and device design, rather than satellite access alone.
The October announcement establishes U.S. operating authority for C-3. Globalstar expects launches to begin in 2027, making constellation deployment the next stated step after authorization.
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