Globalstar do Brasil has signed a contract with Itapemirim, the largest passenger transportation company in Brazil, to install Globalstar phone units in the company¿s inter-city buses. These buses are a vital transport link between major cities and through remote areas where virtually no cellular service is available.
Globalstar phones are now being installed on 43 buses operated by Itapemirim and Penha, two companies in the Itapemirim Group, with commercial service starting on December 1.
Phones will also be installed on all new buses added to both companys¿ fleets in the future. Passengers will be able to make calls using pre-paid smart cards virtually anywhere the buses travel around the country ¿ a service that offers them unprecedented convenience and safety.
"We are always looking for the newest and the best services for our clients ¿ this has been the main objective of our 50 year old bus transportation company," said Camilo Cola, chairman of the Itapemirim Group. "We are very pleased to be the first bus company in the world to offer this original service."
"This announcement is another example of the ever-growing range of applications that customers are discovering for Globalstar service," said Tony Navarra, president of Globalstar.
"Transportation enterprises operating across land, sea, and air continue to discover the value of our service not only for personnel within their own operations but also for the convenience of their customers."
Today¿s announcement follows several other developments in Globalstar¿s roll-out of service across South America.
TE.SA.M. Per¿, the Globalstar service provider in that country, launched a second prepaid service plan, allowing users to buy discounted quantities of minutes in advance. This type of service, which is already exceptionally popular among cellular users in many markets, allows individual users to "pay as you go" and also makes it practical to share a common Globalstar phone with other users.
Globalstar do Brasil has signed an agreement with TIM Cellular, one of Brazil¿s leading wireless telephone providers, making TIM Cellular an authorized reseller of Globalstar service in Brazil. TIM Cellular will be able to market Globalstar service to its 1.3 million customers in Brazil as well as to other potential customers who live, travel or work in the many areas of the country not serviced by regular cellular service.
Globalstar service was initiated in Paraguay in mid-October, offering service to customers through TE.SA.M.¿s gateway in Bosque Alegre, Argentina.
The third Brazilian gateway for Globalstar service, located in Manaus in the Amazon Basin, has entered its final testing phase and is expected to initiate commercial service before the end of the year. Once brought into service, the network of Globalstar gateways for the entire Western Hemisphere will be complete, providing seamless service coverage from Alaska to the southern reaches of Chile and Argentina, along with extensive offshore areas.
