Satellite firm Globalstar is expanding its ground station infrastructure in Greece to support its new fleet.

The Apple-backed company this week announced construction of additional gateway infrastructure at its existing ground station site at OTE’s teleport in Nemea, Greece, to support its third-generation C-3 mobile satellite system.

Globalstar entered into a teleport hosting agreement with OTE in 2020, building three six-meter tracking antennas at the Nemea site. Globalstar has now begun construction of three additional tracking antennas and associated infrastructure.

The expansion is part of a global initiative to deploy more than 90 additional tracking antennas supporting its third-generation C-3 mobile satellite system across 35 ground stations spanning 25 countries and territories.

“We again thank our US commercial services officers at our embassies around the region for their invaluable assistance in 2020 that led to our partnership with OTE, who has fully supported our expanding ground station needs,” said L. Barbee Ponder, Globalstar general counsel & VP of regulatory affairs.

Lykourgos Antonopoulos, chief commercial officer, business segment, OTE Group, added: “We are proud to be Globalstar’s partner of choice for such a significant project, which validates Greece’s strategic role in global satellite connectivity. OTE, a member of the Telekom Group, with its state-of-the-art facilities, robust fiber connectivity, and highly skilled technical personnel, ensures that we can fully support advanced satellite systems like the C‑3 constellation.”

Launched in 1991 as a joint venture of Loral Corporation and Qualcomm, Globalstar's first-generation constellation consists of 48 LEO satellites, with an additional four satellites in orbit as spares, while its second-generation comprises 24 machines.

Globalstar counts Apple as an investor, which uses the satellite firm's services to power some direct-to-cell services on its iPhones.

Ground station expansion work has started at sites in Clifton, Texas; Singapore; Castilla La Mancha, Spain; Bihoro, Japan; and High River in Alberta and Smiths Falls in Ontario, Canada.

The satellite firm recently tapped Australian Edge data center firm DXN to deliver three prefabricated modules to Maui, Hawaii, by the end of 2025.

Founded in 1949 by the Greek state, Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE Group) is a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary in Greece. The German telco acquired a majority stake in the firm between 2008 and 2011. OTE owns Cosmote, Greece’s large mobile operator.

According to Data Center Map, OTE/Cosmote operates two data centers around Athens. The company also operates two teleport sites in Nemea and Thermopylae.