Globalstar hints at life after the iPhone

Globalstar’s top executive said the company is in “deal mode” now, and is working to drum up more business beyond its landmark agreement with Apple for the iPhone.

“So stay tuned,” said Globalstar’s top executive Jay Monroe during his company’s recent quarterly conference call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

Globalstar has already made progress in expanding beyond its deal with Apple, though details remain scarce. According to Monroe, Globalstar has already signed an agreement for a private wireless network using its spectrum holdings across the US and Canada. And the company expects to ink a second deal, covering Canada, in the next few weeks. He didn’t name the company’s new customers.

“These deals represent the two examples of the type of ongoing discussions we are having and closing,” Monroe said. “We expect to be able to replicate this exact opportunity in many other geographies.”

A developing sector

The developments are noteworthy considering Globalstar has long suffered through financial difficulties in its attempts to profit from its satellite operations. But the company rose to prominence last year when it confirmed it would be the satellite operator powering Apple’s new emergency messaging service for its newest iPhone.

That offering has sparked a broad market rush toward the “direct to device” (D2D) sector, whereby standard smartphones connect directly to satellites. Such technology represents a major change from traditional cellular connections between phones and ground-based cell towers. Today, Qualcomm, Iridium, EchoStar, SpaceX and others are working to sell D2D services.

“We believe Globalstar has proven its ability to successfully meet unique customer demands,” the financial analysts with B. Riley Securities wrote in a note to investors following the release of Globalstar’s first quarter earnings. They pointed out that Apple recently expanded its Globalstar-powered emergency messaging service to six new countries, an indication that the service is meeting Apple’s expectations.

The analysts estimated that Globalstar’s deal with Apple is worth around $22 million per quarter in wholesale capacity service revenues. And they noted that Globalstar expects to generate millions of dollars in additional revenues from its new private wireless agreements.

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