Federal Communications Commission FCC 08-238 
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Globalstar Licensee LLC
Modification of Authority to 
Implement an Ancillary Terrestrial Component
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Call Sign S2115
ORDER OF MODIFICATION
Adopted:  October 7, 2008 Released:  October 10, 2008
By the Commission:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. By this Order, we modify the license of Globalstar Licensee LLC (Globalstar) for “Big LEO” 
mobile-satellite service (MSS) with an ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) to provide increased 
spectrum for ATC operations.1 Specifically, we modify Globalstar’s authorization in order to permit 
ATC throughout 7.775 megahertz of spectrum in the 1610-1617.775 MHz L-band frequencies, and 11.5 
megahertz of spectrum in the 2483.5-2495 MHz S-band frequencies, for a total of 19.275 megahertz of 
ATC spectrum.  This Order is issued pursuant to authority delegated by the Commission in its April 10, 
2008 Order Proposing Modification.2
II. DISCUSSION
2. In October 1994, the Commission adopted the Big LEO Order, establishing licensing and 
service rules Big LEO systems in the 1610-1626.5 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz bands.3 In 1995, 
Globalstar was authorized to operate a Big LEO space station system using, among other things, a code 
division multiple access (CDMA) protocol in the 1610-1621.35 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz frequency 
bands.4  In 2003, the Commission adopted the ATC Report and Order, permitting MSS licensees to seek 
authority to implement ATC in MSS bands, including the Big LEO bands.5 In the Big LEO bands, the 
  
1 Big LEO systems provide voice and data communication to users with handheld mobile terminals via non-
geostationary satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).  
2 Spectrum and Service Rules for Ancillary Terrestrial Components in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Big LEO Bands, Globalstar 
Licensee LLC Authority to Implement an Ancillary Terrestrial Component, Report and Order and Order Proposing 
Modification, IB Docket No. 07-253, 23 FCC Rcd 7210 (2008) (cited as either the Report and Order or the April 10, 
2008 Order Proposing Modification, as appropriate).
3 Amendment of the Commission’s Rules to Establish Rules and Policies Pertaining to a Mobile Satellite Service in 
the 1610-1626.5/2483.5-2500 MHz Frequency Bands, Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 5936 (1994) (Big LEO Order).
4 Loral/Qualcom, L.P., Authority to Construct, Launch and Operate Globalstar, a Low Earth Orbit Satellite System 
to Provide Mobile Satellite Services in the 1610-1626.5 MHz/2843.5-2500 MHz Bands, Order and Authorization, 
10 FCC Rcd 2333 (Int’l Bur. 1995).  
5 See Flexibility for Delivery of Communications by Mobile Satellite Service Providers in the 2 GHz Band, the L-
Band, and the 1.6/2.4 GHz Bands, Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, IB Docket No. 01-185, 18 
FCC Rcd 1962 (2003) (ATC Report and Order).  MSS systems can provide communications in areas where it is 
difficult or impossible to provide communications coverage via terrestrial systems, such as remote or rural areas and 
(continued....)
Federal Communications Commission FCC 08-238 
2
Commission limited ATC operations to the 1610-1615.5 MHz and 2492.5-2498 MHz bands for CDMA 
systems.6
3. In 2006, the Commission granted Globalstar authority to operate ATC in the 1610-1615.5 and 
2487.5-2493 MHz bands.7 On June 20, 2006, Globalstar filed a petition for rulemaking requesting that 
the Commission authorize Globalstar to provide ATC using its entire authorized MSS spectrum.8 On 
November 9, 2007, the Commission released the Globalstar ATC Notice in which it sought comment on 
increasing the amount of spectrum in which Globalstar is authorized to operate ATC, to include 
Globalstar’s 25.225 megahertz of assigned spectrum, at 1610-1618.725 MHz in the L-band and 2483.5-
2500 MHz in the S-band.9 On April 10, 2008, in the Report and Order, the Commission found it in the 
public interest to make more spectrum available for ATC operations in the Big LEO bands.10 The 
Commission increased the L-band spectrum that a Big LEO CDMA licensee may use for ATC by 2.275 
megahertz, from 1610-1615.5 MHz to 1610-1617.775 MHz,11 and increased the S-band spectrum that a 
Big LEO CDMA licensee may use by six megahertz, from 2487.5-2493 MHz to 2483.5-2495 MHz.12  
4. In the same order, the Commission proposed to modify Globalstar’s space station license to 
effectuate the revisions to available ATC spectrum that the Commission adopted on April 10, 2008.13 No 
party protested the modification of Globalstar’s license proposed by the Commission.  Consequently, we 
hereby modify Globalstar’s space station license as contemplated in the April 10, 2008 Order Proposing 
Modification.
III. ORDERING CLAUSES
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 316 of the Communications Act, 47 
U.S.C. § 316, that the space station license held by Globalstar Licensee LLC (Call Sign S2115) IS 
MODIFIED.  Globalstar Licensee LLC IS AUTHORIZED to operate ancillary terrestrial component 
service in the 1610-1617.775 MHz and 2483.5-2495 MHz frequency bands.
  
(...continued from previous page)
non-coastal maritime regions.  A disadvantage of MSS is the fact that the satellite link is susceptible to blocking by 
structural attenuation, particularly in urban areas and inside buildings.  AT C allows MSS operators to operate a 
terrestrial service on the same frequencies as their satellite networks to overcome blocking.
6 ATC Report and Order, 18 FCC Rcd at 2057 (para. 192).  The S-band spectrum for CDMA systems’ ATC 
operations was later shifted down five megahertz to the 2487.5-2493 MHz band.  Review of the Spectrum Sharing 
Plan Among Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit Mobile Satellite Service Systems in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Bands, Report 
and Order, Fourth Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, IB Docket No. 02-364, 19 FCC 
Rcd 13356, 13389-90 (para. 75) (2004).
7 See Globalstar LLC Request for Authority to Implement an Ancillary Terrestrial Component for the Globalstar Big 
LEO Mobile Satellite Service System, Order and Authorization, 21 FCC Rcd 398, 401 (para. 9) (Int’l Bur. 2006)
(Globalstar ATC Authorization).
8 See Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Reference Information Center Petition for Rulemakings Filed, 
Public Notice, Report No. 2784, RM-11339, released July 27, 2006.
9 See Spectrum and Service Rules for Ancillary Terrestrial Components in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Big LEO Bands; Review 
of the Spectrum Sharing Plan Among Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit Mobile Satellite Service Systems in the 
1.6/2.4 GHz Bands, IB Docket No. 07-254, IB Docket No. 02-364, Second Order on Reconsideration, Second 
Report and Order, and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 07-194, 22 FCC Rcd 19733, 19745-52 (paras. 27-42) 
(2007) (Globalstar ATC Notice).
10 Report and Order, 23 FCC Rcd at 7214 (para. 10).
11 Id. at 7215 (para. 13).
12 Id. at 7218 (para. 21).
13 Order Proposing Modification, 23 FCC Rcd at 7225 (para. 39).
Federal Communications Commission FCC 08-238 
3
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this modification to the license of Globalstar Licensee LLC 
is effective upon release.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Marlene H. Dortch
Secretary