Orbcomm, a US-based provide of satellite Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machin (M2M) services, has signed an agreement with Asia Pacific Navigation Telecommunications Satellite (APNTS), based in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The agreement will allow Orbcomm to provide its services in China. Additionally, an unnamed Chinese telecommunications operators has received the authorization to use Orbcomm’s satellite constellation.
Orbcomm’s activities in China will target the heavy equipment, transportation & logistics and maritime industries. To extend its reach into China, Orbcomm will construct a China Gateway Earth Station (GES) to serve as a network link between the satellite system and worldwide infrastructure.
“ORBCOMM is pleased to be able to operate within China, which provides a unique competitive advantage to the Company, and deliver the benefits of our robust satellite service to a much broader customer base,” said Marc Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of ORBCOMM. “The regulatory approval combined with the addition of an ORBCOMM GES in China will significantly improve service levels and coverage in the region as well as provide access to a new high-growth market for deployment of ORBCOMM’s industrial IoT solutions.”
“We have been following ORBCOMM’s continued momentum with great excitement for some time and are pleased to help bring ORBCOMM’s products and services to China,” said Zhang Hai Ming, Managing Director of APNTS. “Leveraging our understanding of the local customer base and China’s wide-ranging push towards a more connected society, we believe there is a significant opportunity to market ORBCOMM’s broad IoT solutions portfolio to the heavy equipment, transportation & logistics and maritime industries, which will enable customers throughout the region to improve the efficiency and performance of their business operations.”
Orbcomm currently has approximately 60 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in operation. Its latest constellation, ORBCOMM OG2, comprises 17 LEO satellites fully dedicated to M2M services. These were launched in 2014/15 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9.