Globalstar celebrates major rescue milestone

A satellite message and emergency notification specialist, which supplies simple-to-use tracking, messaging and SOS devices to adventurers and those – like motorhome and campervan owners – who explore and tour in areas with limited or no cellular coverage, is marking a major milestone after its devices played a role in over 10,000 rescues worldwide

The majority of the 10,000 emergency incidents happened while users were engaging in motorsport/driving (2,503), hiking and mountain sports (2,241), and boating (1,007).

With the launch of an increasing number of off-road and off-grid enabled campervans and motorhomes, such as the Rebellion from RP Motorhomes, there has been a rise in motorhome and campervan users heading to wilder and more extreme destinations. It is not uncommon to now see motorhomes and campervans exploring well within the Arctic Circle, as well as much deeper into Africa. Both of these areas have limited or no mobile network coverage.

But it is not just these more extreme areas that have limited or no cellular coverage – major areas of Scotland and northern England have limited or no mobile network coverage, according to Ofcom. As such, the popularity of devices that use satellites, not the mobile networks, for communication and location tracking have grown in popularity.

Satellite devices

Such devices are supplied by Globalstar Europe Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Globalstar Inc, which this week confirmed that its devices, including its Spot satellite GPS messengers, have helped in over 10,000 rescues so far, many of which were life-threatening and where emergency support was rapidly needed. The devices were used to precisely locate the victim using satellite-enabled alerts and to send emergency SOS messages.

The company’s most popular and compact Spot devices provide reliable, near-global coverage thanks to Globalstar's low-earth orbit satellite network. Always-on connectivity and real-time tracking capabilities are assured, even in remote or challenging environments where traditional telecom networks may be unavailable.

Motohome and campervan benefits

Of most interest to outdoor enthusiasts and motorhomers and campervanners is the new Spot Gen4, which has been designed for outdoor recreation. Its always-on, ubiquitous tracking and user-centric functionality have made it a popular companion for outdoorspeople, delivering them, and their friends and family, peace of mind.

In an emergency, pressing the device’s one-touch SOS button instantly sends an alert including the user's GPS coordinates to Globalstar Spot’s 24/7 crisis response centre partner, FocusPoint. From there, needs are assessed and local first responders are contacted in order to dispatch help rapidly.

There is a more advanced Spot X device, which offers two-way SMS and email messaging, as well as GPS tracking and one-touch SOS. Spot X is the only satellite messenger on the market to give users free incoming messages, easy check-in function and a full, backlit QWERTY keypad.

The tracking solution provided by Spot is used as the sole tracking system recommended by the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) to safeguard young people on expeditions.

Mark O’Connell, Globalstar EMEA & APAC General Manager says,

 

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