France authorizes Globalstar to launch and operate 54 C-3 satellites

France’s Ministry for Digital and Ministry for Space authorized Globalstar France SAS on Nov. 9, 2026, to use frequencies, launch and operate 54 satellites in the third-generation C-3 Mobile Satellite Services system under a 20-year spectrum license.

The approvals came from the French Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty and the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Space. The arrangement continues more than twenty-five years of cooperation between Globalstar and France under International Telecommunication Union rules.

The French Ministry for Digital authorized C-3 operations across the entirety of the Big LEO mobile satellite services band for a 20-year term. This frequency approval sits alongside a separate Ministry for Space authorization for the space segment lasting 13 years. Together they form France’s regulatory framework for the C-3 deployment.

The Ministry for Space cleared Globalstar to fly and run the C-3 space segment for the entire 13-year design lifetime. The French space decree covers space flight operations across the satellites’ entire design lifetime to support consumer mobile networks and sovereign applications.

The C-3 constellation will include 48 active low Earth orbit satellites and six dedicated on-orbit spares flying at an altitude of 1,414 kilometers. The spacecraft fly at 1,414 kilometers altitude and match the legacy constellation’s orbital geometry. MDA Space serves as prime contractor building the 54 C-3 spacecraft. The vehicles consist of 48 operational satellites and six on-orbit spares.

Each spacecraft carries S-band payloads using active beamforming to reach standard mobile devices directly.

Globalstar plans first C-3 orbital launches for 2027 under the French space decree. SpaceNews reported that France cleared the satellites for deployment beginning next year. Satnews.com specified that the first launches target 2027 under the French space decree.

Command and control for the C-3 system will run from Globalstar’s Satellite Operations Control Center in Toulouse, France, and a U.S. facility in Covington, Louisiana. The American site sits at Globalstar’s company headquarters in Covington, Louisiana.

89 six-meter ground station antennas around the world will support the C-3 system. The antennas support next-generation global direct-to-device connectivity.

France notified the C-3 network to the International Telecommunication Union under the identifier AST-NG-C-3. The International Telecommunication Union provides the global regulatory framework for the system.

C-3 has authorization in more than 20 countries, including Germany, covering markets with a combined population over one billion people. The authorizations cover more than 20 countries across four continents. Globalstar presents this as growing international regulatory momentum for its C-3 system.

France and Globalstar have cooperated under International Telecommunication Union regulations for over twenty-five years. The authorizations ensure Globalstar’s satellite systems keep operating in line with applicable national rules.

Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chief executive officer of Globalstar, described the French authorizations as a critical step forward for the C-3 program’s global operations. Jacobs also said France has long been essential to Globalstar’s success and that the approvals will ensure services with added capacity, better performance, and more flexibility for users.

Receiving these authorizations from France is another critical step forward for our C-3 program and its operations globally

Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Yahoo! Finance