OrbComm Global, L.P. (OrbComm), a provider of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based data and messaging communications services, today announced that its service licensee in Argentina has been authorized by the Argentine government to provide communications services using the OrbComm system. The operating and frequency licenses were issued to Omnisat, which has the exclusive right to market OrbComm services to Argentina’s 35 million residents. Omnisat is owned by BGH, a pioneer in the advancement of technology in Argentina, and is the Argentine country representative for DAMOS SudAmerica S.A. (DAMOS), OrbComm’s licensee for the Southern Cone territory of South America.
Omnisat plans to begin selling OrbComm services in early 1999.
Omnisat’s planned applications include fleet security and management,
monitoring of distributed assets across Argentina as well as for
personal and commercial messaging. OrbComm expects that the ground
infrastructure will be licensed by the Argentine government this
August and that the ground infrastructure will be completed by the end
of the fourth quarter of 1998.
“The operating and frequency licenses in Argentina come as a
result of the hard work and technical expertise of OrbComm’s South
American partners,” said Scott L. Webster, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of OrbComm. “Argentina is the first country in Latin
America to authorize OrbComm to provide commercial service. Omnisat
and BGH are working closely with the OrbComm service licensee, DAMOS,
to bring an innovative and cost-effective communications option to
industries throughout Argentina, and we expect that option to be
extremely well received.”
“OrbComm will offer tremendous communications and security
benefits to Argentine industries,” said Marzio Laurenti, Chief
Executive Officer of DAMOS. “By using OrbComm’s network of satellites,
Argentine industries will be able to continuously monitor, track and
communicate with deployed assets, eliminating many of the costs and
safety concerns resulting from assets being out of touch. Omnisat,
BGH, DAMOS and OrbComm have combined their experience to bring this
exciting new communications solution to Argentina.”
“The introduction of OrbComm services in Argentina is expected to
be especially attractive to the terrestrial and maritime
transportation industries, as well as to Argentina’s oil and gas
industries,” said Carlos Baylac, General Manager, Communications
Division of BGH. “We believe that Argentine industries will view
OrbComm as an enabling technology to help them lower operating costs,
increase productivity and better serve their clients. We have studied
the market and determined that there is a need for OrbComm’s
cost-effective and ubiquitous communications that will contribute to
the integration of Argentina with the rest of the world, and in
particular with the other countries of the Mercosur.”
OrbComm provides two-way monitoring, tracking and messaging
services through the world’s first low-Earth orbit satellite-based
data communications system. OrbComm applications include monitoring of
fixed assets such as electric utility meters, oil and gas storage
tanks, wells and pipelines and environmental projects; tracking of
mobile assets such as commercial vehicles, trailers, rail cars, heavy
equipment, fishing vessels, barges and government assets; and
messaging services for consumers and commercial and government
entities.
