Globalstar

The Globalstar project was launched in 1991 as a joint venture of Loral Corporation and Qualcomm. On March 24, 1994, the two sponsors announced the formation of Globalstar LP, a limited partnership established in the U.S., with financial participation from eight other companies, including Alcatel, AirTouch, Deutsche Aerospace, Hyundai, and Vodafone. At that time, the company predicted the system would launch in 1998, based on an investment of $1.8 billion.

Globalstar received its US spectrum allocation from the FCC in January 1995 and continued to negotiate with other nations for rights to use the same radio frequencies in their countries.

The first satellites were launched in February 1998, but system deployment was delayed due to a launch failure in September 1998 that resulted in the loss of 12 satellites in a launch by the Russian Space Agency.

The first call on the original Globalstar system was placed on November 1, 1998, from Qualcomm chairman Irwin Jacobs in San Diego to Loral Space & Communications CEO and chairman Bernard Schwartz in New York City.

In October 1999, the system began "friendly user" trials with 44 of 48 planned satellites. In December 1999, the system began limited commercial service for 200 users with the full 48 satellites . In February 2000, it began full commercial service with its 48 satellites and 4 spares in North America, Europe, and Brazil. Another eight satellites were maintained as ground spares. Initial prices were $1.79/minute for satellite phone calls.

On February 15, 2002, the predecessor company Globalstar and three of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

In 2004, restructuring of the old Globalstar was completed. The first stage of the restructuring was completed on December 5, 2003, when Thermo Capital Partners LLC was deemed to obtain operational control of the business, as well as certain ownership rights and risks. Thermo Capital Partners became the principal owner.

Globalstar LLC was formed as a Delaware limited liability company in November 2003 and was converted into Globalstar, Inc., on March 17, 2006.

In 2007, Globalstar launched eight additional first-generation spare satellites into space to help compensate for the premature failure of their in-orbit satellites. Between 2010 and 2013, Globalstar launched 24 second-generation satellites in an effort to restore their system to full service.

Between 2010 and 2011, Globalstar moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Covington, Louisiana in part to take advantage of the state's tax breaks and low cost of living.In April 2018, Globalstar announced it would merge with FiberLight in a deal valued at $1.65 billion. That deal was called off in August 2018 following a lawsuit from Globalstar's largest investor, Mudrick Capital Management.In March 2020, Globalstar announced that the Third Generation Partnership Project had approved the 5G variant of Globalstar's Band 53, to become known as n53.On March 6, 2021, Globalstar announced to customers that the Sat-Fi2 and Sat-Fi2 RAS services would be discontinued as of March 12, 2021.

On September 7, 2022, Apple announced a cooperation with Globalstar Inc that "would allow iPhone 14 users to send emergency messages" via satellite, starting in the U.S. and Canada.