ORBCOMM

ORBCOMM, headquartered in Rochelle Park, New Jersey and founded in 1993, is a global machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity provider operating its own constellation of 31 OG2 low Earth orbit satellites alongside ground infrastructure spanning 130+ countries — delivering asset tracking, fleet management, remote monitoring, and sensor data connectivity for transportation, heavy equipment, maritime, and industrial markets.

ORBCOMM's space segment comprises the OG2 LEO constellation at approximately 750 km altitude, using VHF frequencies (137-150.05 MHz uplink, 137-138 MHz downlink) that enable small, low-power subscriber communicator devices to transmit short data messages from remote locations where cellular coverage is unavailable — ships at sea, freight trains in mountain passes, oil pipeline monitoring stations in Arctic environments, and heavy equipment operating in mines.

The company operates its own network of ground stations and teleports for VHF message relay, and resells Inmarsat's IsatData Pro (IDP) GEO-based M2M service for customers requiring near-real-time data transfer that LEO satellites' intermittent pass schedules cannot provide.

ORBCOMM's primary industry verticals are transportation (truck and trailer tracking, reefer container temperature monitoring, intermodal asset visibility), heavy equipment (construction and mining equipment telematics for Caterpillar, Komatsu, and CNH Industrial), maritime (vessel AIS tracking and fishing vessel monitoring), and oil and gas (pipeline monitoring, tank level sensing). The company sells both airtime subscriptions and subscriber communicator hardware devices.

ORBCOMM was taken private by GI Partners in 2021 after operating as a Nasdaq-listed public company, providing capital for technology development and acquisitions to compete with Globalstar, Iridium's commercial IoT services, and emerging LEO IoT constellations from Satellogic and Lacuna Space. The company has served over 742,000 active subscriber communicators globally.