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

The Apple-backed company this week announced that construction has commenced to expand the size of the ground station in Singapore to support its third-generation C-3 mobile satellite system (MSS).

Singtel has hosted Globalstar’s ground station antennas in Singapore since 2008. The expansion will add two additional 6-meter tracking antennas to support Globalstar’s C-3 mobile satellite system across Southeast Asia.

“Singapore joins a growing list of countries, including Spain, Japan, Canada, and the United States, where we are deploying additional Globalstar antennas,” said L. Barbee Ponder, general counsel & VP of regulatory affairs for Globalstar. “With today’s announcement regarding Singapore, we continue our longstanding relationship with Singtel to support next-generation satellite solutions to hundreds of millions of people throughout the Southeast Asia region.”

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.

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.

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

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