Globalstar, Inc. 10-K

Item 1. Business Mobile Satellite Services Business Globalstar, Inc. (“we,” “us” or the “Company”) provides Mobile Satellite Services (“MSS”) including voice and data communications services globally via satellite. We offer these services over our network of in-orbit satellites and our active ground stations (“gateways”), which we refer to collectively as the Globalstar System. In addition to supporting Internet of Things ("IoT") data transmissions in a variety of applications, we provide reliable connectivity in areas not served or underserved by terrestrial wireless and wireline networks and in circumstances where terrestrial networks are not operational due to natural or man-made disasters. By providing wireless communications services across the globe, we meet our customers' increasing desire for connectivity. Recent Developments COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and may continue to impact our business. At the beginning of the pandemic, we experienced a reduction in the volume of sales of subscriber equipment, received requests for service pricing concessions from certain customers, and were impacted by certain of our customers not being able to pay outstanding balances. During 2021, we saw a recovery in our business, specifically an increase in the volume of sales of IoT equipment and lower subscriber churn for SPOT and IoT. We also pursued various opportunities to mitigate the risks and uncertainties resulting from COVID-19, including: • Receiving economic relief and support under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, including the receipt of a $5.0 million loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (the "PPP Loan") and the deferral of certain payroll taxes, • Electing pension relief under the American Rescue Plan Act, • Evaluating our eligibility for the Employee Retention Tax Credit program, • Refocusing internal resources on high-value opportunities, and • Working with our product manufacturers to ensure we will continue to have sufficient inventory levels on hand to meet consumer demand. In June 2021, the Small Business Association ("SBA") fully approved our request for forgiveness of all amounts outstanding, including interest, under the PPP Loan. 3 There are a number of uncertainties that could impact our future results of operations, including the effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation measures; the duration of the pandemic; global economic conditions; changes to our operations; changes in consumer confidence, behaviors and spending; work from home trends; and the sustainability of supply chains. Gateway Expansion During 2021, we acquired the remaining ownership of our joint venture in South Korea and also took over the operations of our three gateways in Australia that were previously operated by an Independent Gateway Operator ("IGO"). We purchased assets, including gateway licenses, from these IGOs. We commenced leases for additional gateways around the world and expect this expansion to continue during 2022. We also made significant progress on our initiative to upgrade certain gateway equipment, including new antennas and appliques, to improve our ability to pursue significant new opportunities to deploy our network assets as technologies and customer needs evolve and to ensure our network performance continues to excel as these opportunities increase demand on our capacity. Global Chip Shortage The recent chip shortage has negatively impacted our manufacturing processes, including causing delays in and increased costs of sourcing certain component parts. We have mitigated some of the impact of these shortages, but there continues to be uncertainties around our ability to produce equipment timely and at reasonable prices, which could negatively impact our revenue and profitability. Globalstar System Satellite Network Our constellation of Low Earth Orbit ("LEO") satellites includes second-generation satellites and certain first-generation satellites. We also have one on-ground spare second-generation satellite that we plan to launch in the near future. We designed our satellite network to maximize the probability that at least one satellite is visible from any point on the Earth's surface between the latitudes 70° north and 70° south. We designed our second-generation satellites to last twice as long in space, have 40% greater capacity and be built at a significantly lower cost compared to our first-generation satellites. Our goal is to provide service levels and call or message success rates equal to or better than our MSS competitors so our products and services are attractive to potential customers. We believe that our system outperforms geostationary (“GEO”) satellites used by some of our competitors. GEO satellite signals must travel approximately 42,000 additional miles on average, which introduces considerable delay and signal degradation to GEO calls. In February 2022, we entered into a satellite procurement agreement (the "Procurement Agreement") with Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates Corporation (the "Vendor") pursuant to which we will acquire 17 satellites that will replenish our existing constellation and ensure long-term continuity of our mobile satellite services. We are acquiring the satellites to provide continuous satellite services to the potential customer under the Terms Agreement (defined below), as well as services to our current and future customers. We have committed to purchase these new satellites for a total contract price of $327.0 million and have the option to purchase additional satellites at a lower per unit cost, subject to certain conditions. The technical specifications and design of these new satellites are similar to our current second-generation satellites. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. is the Vendor’s satellite bus subcontractor under the Procurement Agreement. The agreement requires the Vendor to deliver the initial 17 new satellites by 2025, all of which are expected to be launched by the end of 2025. Under the Terms Agreement, the counterparty is required to reimburse 95 % of the capital expenditures and certain other costs incurred for the new satellites. Ground Network Our satellites communicate with a network of gateways, each of which serves an area of approximately 700,000 to 1,000,000 square miles. A gateway must be within line-of-sight of a satellite and the satellite must be within line-of-sight of the subscriber to provide services. We have positioned our gateways to provide coverage over most of the Earth's land and human population and continue to evaluate and expand our gateway footprint to optimize coverage. Each of our gateways has multiple antennas that communicate with our satellites and pass communications seamlessly between antenna beams and satellites as the satellites traverse the gateways, thereby reflecting the signals from our users' terminals to our gateways. Once a satellite acquires a signal from an end-user, the Globalstar System authenticates the user and establishes the voice or data channel to complete the call to the public switched telephone network (“PSTN”), a cellular or another wireless network or the internet for data communications including Commercial IoT. Over the past few years, we have procured and installed new antennas at all of our new and existing gateways around the world. 4 We believe that our network's design enables faster and more cost-effective system maintenance and upgrades because the system's software and much of its hardware are located on the ground. Our multiple gateways allow us to reconfigure our system quickly to extend another gateway's coverage to make up for lost coverage from a disabled gateway or to handle increased call capacity resulting from surges in demand. Our ground network includes our ground equipment, which uses patented CDMA technology to permit communication to multiple satellites. Our system architecture provides full frequency re-use. This maximizes satellite diversity (which maximizes quality) and network capacity as we can reuse the assigned spectrum in every satellite beam in every satellite. In addition, we have developed a proprietary technology for our SPOT and Commercial IoT services. Communications Products and Services We currently provide the following communications services: • two-way voice communication and data transmissions via our GSP-1600 and GSP-1700 phone ("Duplex"); • one-way or two-way communication and data transmissions using mobile devices, including our SPOT family of products, such as SPOT X ® , SPOT Gen4 TM and SPOT Trace ® , that transmit messages and the location of the device ("SPOT"); • one-way data transmissions using a mobile or fixed device that transmits its location and other information to a central monitoring station, including our commercial IoT products, such as our battery- and solar-powered SmartOne, STX-3 and ST100 ("Commercial IoT"); and • engineering services to assist certain customers (including our customer under the Terms Agreement (defined below)) in developing new applications to operate on our network, enhancements to our ground network and other communication services using our MSS and terrestrial spectrum licenses ("Engineering and Other"). We compete aggressively on price. We offer a range of price-competitive products to the industrial, governmental and consumer markets. We expect to retain our position as a cost-effective, high-quality leader in the MSS industry. As technological advancements are made, we continue to explore opportunities to develop new products and provide new services over our network to meet the needs of our existing and prospective customers. We are currently pursuing initiatives that we expect will expand our satellite communications business and more effectively utilize the capacity of our network assets. These initiatives include evaluating our product and service offerings in light of the shift in demand across the MSS industry from full Duplex voice and data services to IoT-enabled devices. To align our business model with this evolution, we have temporarily ceased sales of and services to subscribers for certain Duplex devices, such as Sat-Fi2®. We are currently evaluating opportunities for these devices relative to other product and service offerings as well as the capacity required to support these devices relative to other possible uses for the capacity. Integrated with this assessment is the development of a two-way reference design module to expand our Commercial IoT offerings, which is among our other current initiatives. Our Commercial IoT use cases continue to expand, including deployments that support environmentally friendly initiatives. Recent deployments include remote monitoring of fluid levels and tanks, which replaces the need for motor vehicles to access these assets, as well as asset monitoring solutions for solar lighting and other renewable energy sources. Customers The specialized needs of our global customers span many industries. As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 768,000 subscribers worldwide, principally within the following markets: recreation and personal; government; public safety and disaster relief; oil and gas; maritime and fishing; natural resources, mining and forestry; construction; utilities; animal tracking; and transportation. Our system is able to offer our customers cost-effective communications solutions completely independent of cellular coverage. Although traditional users of wireless telephony and broadband data services have access to these services in developed locations, our customers often operate, travel or live in remote regions or regions with under-developed telecommunications infrastructure where these services are not readily available or are not provided on a reliable basis. Our top revenue-generating markets in the United States and Canada are government (including federal, state and local agencies), public safety and disaster relief, oil and gas, recreation and personal telecommunications. In recent years, the portion of our customers using Commercial IoT devices has increased significantly. No one customer was responsible for more than 10% of our revenue in 2021, 2020 or 2019. 5 Duplex Two-Way Voice and Data Products Mobile Voice and Data Satellite Communications Services and Equipment We provide mobile voice and data services to a wide variety of commercial, government and individual customers for remote business continuity, recreational usage, safety, emergency preparedness and response and other applications. We offer our services for use only with equipment designed to work on our network. Subscribers typically pay an initial activation fee, a usage fee for a fixed or unlimited number of minutes, and fees for additional services such as voicemail, call forwarding, short messaging, email, data compression and internet access. We regularly monitor our service offerings and rate plans in accordance with customer demands and market changes and offer pricing plans such as bundled minutes, annual plans and unlimited plans. We offer the GSP-1600 and GSP-1700 phones. Both phones include Qualcomm Incorporated's ("Qualcomm") patented CDMA technology, which we believe provides superior voice quality when compared to competitors' handsets. The GSP-1700 phone includes a user-friendly color LCD screen and a variety of accessories. We believe that the GSP-1700 is among the smallest, lightest and least-expensive satellite phones. We no longer manufacture the GSP-1600 and GSP-1700 phones. The majority of our phone sales are refurbished and are generally obtained through a buyback program that we have in place to purchase devices from deactivated subscribers, or subscribers that have upgraded to other devices. Product Distribution Our sales group is responsible for conducting direct sales with key accounts and for managing partner relationships. Customers also place orders through our existing sales force and through our direct e-commerce website. SPOT Consumer Retail Products The SPOT product family has initiated approximately 8,200 rescues since its launch in 2007. SPOT delivers affordable and reliable satellite-based connectivity and real-time GPS tracking to hundreds of thousands of users, completely independent of cellular coverage. We differentiate ourselves from other MSS providers by offering affordable, high-utility mobile satellite products that appeal to both businesses and the mainstream consumer market. We believe that we are the only vertically-integrated mobile satellite company. Our vertical integration results in decreased pre-production costs, greater quality assurance and shorter time to market for our retail consumer products. We currently sell SPOT Gen4 TM , SPOT X ® and SPOT Trace ® . SPOT Gen4 TM offers enhanced tracking features and is also water resistant. The product enables users to transmit predefined messages to a specific preprogrammed email address, phone or data device, including requests for assistance and “SOS” messages in the event of an emergency. SPOT X ® is a two-way SPOT device with keyboard functionality allowing subscribers to send and receive SMS messages. SPOT X ® connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth® wireless technology through the SPOT X ® app to send and receive satellite messages. SPOT Trace ® is a cost-effective, anti-theft and asset-tracking device. SPOT Trace ® ensures cars, motorcycles, boats, ATVs, snowmobiles and other valuable assets are where they need to be, notifying owners via email or text anytime movement is detected, using 100% satellite technology to provide location-based messaging and emergency notification for on or off the grid communications. We target our SPOT devices to recreational and commercial markets that require personal tracking, emergency location and messaging solutions that operate beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless and wireline coverage. Using our network and web-based mapping software, these devices provide consumers with the ability to trace a path geographically or map the location of individuals or equipment. SPOT products and services are available through our product distribution channels and our direct e-commerce website. Product Distribution We distribute and sell our SPOT products through a variety of distribution channels. We have distribution relationships with a number of "Big Box" retailers and other similar distribution channels, including Amazon, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, Camping World, Gander Outdoors, REI, Sportsman's Warehouse, Academy, and West Marine. We also sell SPOT products and services directly using our existing sales force and through our direct e-commerce website, www.findmespot.com. 6 Commercial IoT Transmission Products Commercial IoT service is currently a one-way data service from an IoT device over the Globalstar System that can be used to track and monitor assets. Our subscribers use our Commercial IoT devices for a host of applications: to track assets, such as cargo containers and rail cars; to monitor utility meters; and to monitor oil and gas assets. At the heart of the Commercial IoT service is a demodulator and RF interface, called an appliqué, which is located at a gateway and an application server in our facilities. The appliqué-equipped gateways provide coverage over vast areas of the globe. The small size of the IoT devices makes them attractive for use in tracking asset shipments, monitoring unattended remote assets, trailer tracking and mobile security. Current users include various governmental agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”), the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), the U.S. Forest Service and the U.K. Ministry of Defence, as well as other organizations, including BP, Shell and The Salvation Army. We designed our Commercial IoT service to address demand in the market for a small and cost-effective solution for sending data, such as geographic coordinates, from assets or individuals in remote locations to a central monitoring station. Customers realize an efficiency advantage from tracking assets on a single global system as compared to several regional systems. Satellite Transmitter Modules and Chips We offer small satellite transmitter modules, such as the STX-3 and ST100, and chips, such as our proprietary ASIC, which enable an integrator’s products to access our network. We have sales arrangements with major resellers to market our IoT services, including some value-added resellers that integrate our modules into their proprietary solutions designed to meet certain specialized niche market applications. The STX3 provides additional opportunities to integrate satellite connectivity into products used for vehicle and asset tracking, remote data reporting and data logger reporting that have limited size requirements. Affordable pricing, low power consumption and its small size make the STX3 a highly efficient device ready for integration in a wide variety of applications. The ST100, or ST100 Satellite Transmitter, is a small, lightweight and low power IoT board with embedded antennas. The ST100 offers a customizable approach to new commercial IoT product innovations and can be used by simply adding power, a mechanical enclosure and configuring the settings within the device firmware. For more advanced technical requirements, third parties can write their own firmware on the ST100 and utilize Bluetooth® wireless technology and the serial connector to expand the use of the board and integrate it with other devices or hardware. The ASIC provides a single chip one-way solution that can be embedded in a customer's owns solution. SmartOne Asset Managers We also offer complete products that utilize the STX-3 transmitter module and our ASIC chip. Our Commercial IoT units, including the enterprise-grade SmartOne family of asset-ready tracking units, are used worldwide by industrial, commercial and government customers. These products provide cost-effective, low-power, ultra-reliable, secure monitoring that help solve a variety of security applications and asset tracking challenges. Partnering with existing third party technology providers, we are developing IoT products to connect existing and new users and accelerate deployment of an expanded Globalstar IoT product suite. We also offer SmartOne Solar™, which is solar-powered and supports similar functionality to our SmartOne suite of products without the need to recharge batteries or line power the device over an expected life of up to ten years. These features will result in a longer field life than existing devices. Solar-powered devices also take advantage of our network's ability to support multiple billions of daily transmissions. The SmartOne Solar™ also has unparalleled safety and environmental certifications including ATEX, IECEx, North America (NEC & CEC), IP68/69K, and HERO. Future Developments We have other initiatives to expand our Commercial IoT offerings, including the development of our enablement suite and a two-way reference design module. The enablement suite represents a new approach to the architecture and software design for our future products. It is based on Bluetooth ® Low Energy ("BLE") technology for most module communication and has a software stack that exposes a unified API. This approach gives application developers flexibility in developing edge platform applications aimed at custom IoT solutions. Markets for edge platform applications include alternative energy, agriculture, industrial monitoring and traditional markets such as oil and gas. Product Distribution The reseller channel for Commercial IoT equipment and service is comprised primarily of value-added resellers and commercial communications equipment companies that retain and bill clients directly, outside of our billing system. Many of 7 our resellers specialize in niche vertical markets where high-use customers are concentrated. We expect that demand for our Commercial IoT products and services will increase as more applications are developed and deployed that utilize our technology. Engineering and Other We provide engineering services to assist certain customers in developing new applications to operate on our network and to enhance our ground network. These services include hardware and software designs to develop specific applications operating over our network, as well as the installation of gateways and antennas. In February 2020, we entered into an agreement (i) providing for a customer to pay us for non-recurring engineering (NRE) services in connection with the assessment of a potential service utilizing certain of our assets and capacity, and (ii) setting forth the primary terms for the potential development and operation of the service (the “Terms Agreement”). The Terms Agreement includes certain binding protective provisions, including an exclusivity provision not affecting current services, access rights related to the affected assets, certain information rights and certain provisions for future financings. The Terms Agreement may be terminated by the customer at any time in its sole discretion. Spectrum and Regulatory Structure We benefit from a worldwide allocation of radio frequency spectrum in the international radio frequency tables administered by the International Telecommunications Union (“ITU”). Access to this globally harmonized spectrum enables us to design satellites, networks and terrestrial infrastructure enhancements more cost effectively because the products and services can be deployed and sold worldwide. In addition, this broad spectrum assignment enhances our ability to capitalize on existing and emerging wireless and broadband applications. Satellite Network In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has authorized us to operate between 1610-1618.725 MHz for “Uplink” communications from mobile earth terminals to our satellites and between 2483.5-2500 MHz for “Downlink” communications from our satellites to our mobile earth terminals. The FCC has also authorized us to operate our domestic gateways with our first and second-generation satellites in the 5091-5250 and 6875-7055 MHz bands. We licensed and registered our second-generation satellites in France. We also obtained all authorizations necessary from the FCC to operate our domestic gateways with our second-generation satellites. In accordance with our authorization to operate the second-generation satellites, we completed the enhancements to the existing gateway operations in Aussaguel, France to include satellite operations and control functions. We have redundant satellite operation control facilities in Covington, Louisiana, Milpitas, California and Aussaguel, France. During 2020, our French authorizations to provide MSS and operate the gateway in Aussaguel, France were renewed for an additional 10-year term. Terrestrial Authority for Globalstar's Licensed 2.4 GHz Spectrum In December 2016, the FCC unanimously adopted a Report and Order permitting us to seek modification of our existing MSS licenses to provide terrestrial broadband services over 11.5 MHz of our licensed Mobile Satellite Services spectrum at 2483.5 to 2495 MHz throughout the United States of America and its Territories. In August 2017, the FCC modified Globalstar's MSS licenses, granting us authority to provide terrestrial broadband services over that 11.5 MHz portion of our satellite spectrum. Specifically, the FCC modified our space station authorization and our blanket mobile earth station license to permit a terrestrial network using 11.5 MHz of our licensed mobile-satellite service spectrum. In December 2018, we successfully completed the Third Generation Partnership Project (“3GPP”) standardization process for the 11.5 MHz of our licensed MSS spectrum terrestrially authorized by the FCC. The 3GPP designated the band as Band 53. Additionally, in March 2020, we announced that the 3GPP approved the 5G variant of our Band 53, which is known as n53. This new band class provides a pathway for our terrestrial spectrum to be integrated into handset and infrastructure ecosystems. Additional follow-on 3GPP specifications and approvals are expected in the future. During 2019, we executed a spectrum managers lease with Nokia in order to permit Nokia to utilize Band 53 within its equipment domestically and have such equipment type-certified for sale and deployment. In February 2021, Qualcomm Technologies announced its new Snapdragon X65 modem-RF System, which includes support for Band n53. By having global 5G band support for n53 in Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G solutions, our potential device ecosystem expands significantly to include the most popular smartphones, laptops, tablets, automated equipment and other IoT modules. 8 We believe our MSS spectrum position provides potential for harmonized terrestrial authority across many international regulatory domains and have been seeking approvals in various international jurisdictions. To date, we have received additional terrestrial authorizations in various countries including Brazil, Canada and South Africa, among others. We expect this global effort to continue for the foreseeable future while we seek additional terrestrial approvals to internationally harmonize our S-band spectrum across the entire 16.5 MHz authority for terrestrial mobile broadband services. We expect our terrestrial authority will allow future partners to develop high-density dedicated networks using the TD-LTE and 5G protocols for private networks as well as the densification of cellular networks. We believe that our offering has competitive advantages over other conventional commercial spectrum allocations. Such other allocations must meet minimum population coverage requirements, which effectively prohibit the exclusive use of most carrier spectrum for dedicated small cell deployments. In addition, low frequency carrier spectrum is not physically well suited to high-density small cell topologies, and mmWave spectrum is subject to range and attenuation limitations. We believe that our licensed 2.4 GHz band holds physical, regulatory and ecosystem qualities that distinguishes it from other current and anticipated allocations, and that it is well positioned to balance favorable range, capacity and attenuation characteristics. Industry We compete in the MSS sector of the global communications industry. MSS operators provide voice and data services using a network of one or more satellites and associated ground facilities. Mobile satellite services are usually complementary to, and interconnected with, other forms of terrestrial communications services and infrastructure and are intended to allow for connectivity at all times and locations. Customers typically use satellite voice and data communications in situations where existing terrestrial wireline and wireless communications networks are impaired or do not exist. Worldwide, government organizations, military, natural disaster aid associations, event-driven response agencies and corporate security teams depend on mobile and fixed voice and data communications services on a regular basis. Businesses with global operations require communications services when operating in remote locations around the world. MSS users span the forestry, maritime, government, oil and gas, mining, leisure, emergency services, construction and transportation sectors, among others. Over the past two decades, the global MSS market has experienced significant growth. Increasingly, better-tailored, improved technology products and services are creating new channels of demand for mobile satellite services. Growth in demand for mobile satellite services is driven by the declining cost of these services, the diminishing size and lower cost of the devices, as well as heightened demand by governments, businesses and individuals for ubiquitous global voice and data coverage. Growth in mobile satellite data services is driven by the rollout of new applications requiring higher bandwidth, as well as low-cost data collection and asset-tracking devices and technological improvements permitting integration of mobile satellite services over smartphones and other Wi-Fi enabled devices. Communications industry sectors that are relevant to our business include: • MSS, which provide customers with connectivity to mobile and fixed devices using a network of satellites and ground facilities; • fixed satellite services, which use geostationary satellites to provide customers with voice and broadband communications links between fixed points on the earth's surface; and • terrestrial services, which use a terrestrial network to provide wireless or wireline connectivity and are complementary to satellite services. Within the major satellite sectors, fixed and MSS operators differ significantly from each other. Fixed satellite services providers, such as Intelsat Ltd., Eutelsat Communications and SES S.A., and aperture terminal companies, such as Hughes and Gilat Satellite Networks, are characterized by large, often stationary or "fixed," ground terminals that send and receive high-bandwidth signals to and from the satellite network for video and high speed data customers and international telephone markets. On the other hand, MSS providers, such as Globalstar, ORBCOMM, Inmarsat PLC (“Inmarsat”) and Iridium Communications Inc. (“Iridium”), focus more on voice and/or data services (including data services which track the location of remote assets such as shipping containers), where mobility or small-sized terminals are essential. As mobile satellite terminals begin to offer higher bandwidth to support a wider range of applications, we expect MSS operators will increasingly compete with fixed satellite services operators. 9 LEO systems reduce transmission delay compared to a geosynchronous system due to the shorter distance signals have to travel. In addition, LEO systems are less prone to signal blockage and, consequently, we believe provide a better overall quality of service. We are also a provider of licensed wireless spectrum for use in terrestrial networks. As more and more devices are connected wirelessly and as their applications increase in bandwidth intensity, more terrestrial spectrum is required. In the United States, there are a number of other current licensed spectrum providers, including Anterix, Nextwave, Terrastar, Ligado and as well as various other licensed spectrum holders. We also provide an alternative to unlicensed spectrum used with WiFi or lightly licensed spectrum like CBRS. Each spectrum band is unique due to its propagation or ecosystem development; accordingly some bands suit needs that others may not. Our spectrum band offers partners an international resource that has a robust and growing ecosystem. Competition The global communications industry is highly competitive. We currently face substantial competition from other service providers that offer a range of mobile and fixed communications options. Our most direct competition comes from other global MSS providers. Our largest global competitors are ORBCOMM, Inmarsat and Iridium. We compete primarily on the basis of coverage, quality, portability and pricing of services and products. In recent years, advancements in technology have also encouraged non-traditional companies to enter the market. Inmarsat owns and operates a fleet of geostationary satellites. Due to its multiple-satellite geostationary system, Inmarsat's coverage area extends to and covers most bodies of water more completely than our system. Accordingly, Inmarsat is the leading provider of satellite communications services to the maritime sector. Inmarsat also offers global land-based and aeronautical communications services. We compete with Inmarsat in several key areas, particularly in our maritime markets. Inmarsat markets mobile handsets designed to compete with both Iridium’s mobile handset service and our GSP-1700 handset service. Iridium owns and operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites. Iridium provides voice and data communications to businesses, United States and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers. Iridium markets products and services that are similar to those marketed by us. Additionally, Garmin's inReach devices provide two-way tracking with SOS capabilities, Honeywell Global Tracking has a personal tracking unit that enables a smartphone with satellite tracking and messaging capabilities and Somewear has a satellite hotspot; these products work on Iridium's satellite network. ORBCOMM owns and operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites. ORBCOMM primarily provides asset tracking, monitoring and control solutions for its customers in the IoT market, which directly compete with our IoT products and services. We compete with regional mobile satellite communications services in several markets. In these cases, our competitors serve customers who require regional, not global, mobile voice and data services, so our competitors present a viable alternative to our services. All of these competitors operate geostationary satellites. Our principal regional MSS competitor in the Middle East and Africa is Thuraya. In some of our markets, such as rural telephony, we compete directly or indirectly with very small aperture terminal (“VSAT”) operators that offer communications services through private networks using very small aperture terminals or hybrid systems to target business users. VSAT operators have become increasingly competitive due to technological advances that have resulted in smaller, more flexible and cheaper terminals. We compete indirectly with terrestrial wireline (“landline”) and wireless communications networks. We provide service in areas that are inadequately covered by these ground systems. To the extent that terrestrial communications companies invest in underdeveloped areas, we will face increased competition in those areas. Our SPOT products compete indirectly with Personal Locator Beacons (“PLB”s). A variety of manufacturers offer PLBs to industry specifications. Our industry has significant barriers to entry, including the cost and difficulty associated with obtaining spectrum licenses and successfully building and launching a satellite network. In addition to cost, there is a significant amount of lead-time associated with obtaining the required licenses, designing and building the satellite constellation and synchronizing the network technology. 10 For terrestrial spectrum opportunities, our primary competition is unlicensed spectrum and, to a lesser extent, lightly licensed CBRS. Anterix, a licensed spectrum holder, is also a successful competitor for use cases that require low data over longer distances. We may be able to address certain of these use cases with spectrum provided by our satellite network. Governmental Regulations Please refer to Item 1A: Risk Factors - " Risks Related to Government Regulations" for further discussion of the impact of governmental regulations on our business. United States International Traffic in Arms Regulations and United States Export Administration Regulations The United States International Traffic in Arms regulations under the United States Arms Export Control Act authorize the President of the United States to control the export and import of articles and services that can be used in the production of arms. The President has delegated this authority to the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. United States Export Administration Regulations enforced by the United States Bureau of Industry and Security, as well as regulations enforced by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control regulate the export of certain products, services, and associated technical data. Among other things, these regulations limit the ability to export certain articles and related technical data to certain nations. Some information involved in the performance of our operations falls within the scope of these regulations. As a result, we may have to obtain an export authorization or restrict access to that information by international companies that are our vendors or service providers. We have received and expect to continue to receive export licenses for covered articles and technical data shared with approved parties outside the United States. We also are subject to restrictions related to transactions with persons subject to United States or foreign sanctions. These regulations, enforced by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, limit our ability to offer services and equipment to certain parties or in certain areas. Environmental Matters We are subject to various laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and human health and safety (including those governing the management, storage and disposal of hazardous materials). Some of our operations require continuous power supply. As a result, current and historical operations at our ground facilities, including our gateways, include storing fuels and batteries, which may contain hazardous materials, to power back-up generators. As an owner or operator of property and in connection with our current and historical operations, we could incur significant costs, including cleanup costs, fines, sanctions and third-party claims, as a result of violations of or in connection with liabilities under environmental laws and regulations. Foreign Operations We supply services and products to a number of foreign customers. Although most of our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, we are exposed to currency risk for sales in Canada, Europe, Brazil and various other countries. In 2021, approximately 30% of our sales were generated in foreign countries, which generally are denominated in local currencies. See Note 2: Revenue in the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding revenue by country. For more information about our exposure to risks related to foreign locations, see Item 1A: Risk Factors - " We face special risks by doing business in international markets and developing markets, including currency and expropriation risks, which could increase our costs or reduce our revenues in these areas." Intellectual Property We hold various U.S. and foreign patents and patents pending that expire between 2022 and 2035. These patents cover many aspects of our satellite system, our global network and our user terminals. In recent years, we have reduced our foreign filings and decided to allow some previously granted foreign patents to lapse based on (a) the relative significance of the patent, (b) our assessment of the likelihood that someone would infringe in the foreign country, and (c) the probability that we could or would enforce the patent in light of the expense of filing and maintaining the foreign patent which, in some countries, is quite substantial. We continue to maintain all of the patents in the United States, Canada and Europe that we believe are important to our business. Our intellectual property is pledged as security for our obligations under our $199.0 million facility agreement we entered into in 2019 (the "2019 Facility Agreement"). 11 Human Capital As of December 31, 2021, we had 329 employees in fourteen countries around the world; 21 of our employees were located in Brazil and subject to collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. We are an equal opportunity employer and comply with labor and employment laws in all of the countries in which we operate. Our compensation and benefit packages are designed to attract and retain employees and were developed using market research. We attract employees through various platforms, such as online job portals, recruiters, in-person job fairs, local universities and employee referrals. Salaries are competitive and based on job position, physical location, experience and skills. In addition to base salary, certain employees participate in longer-term incentive programs, which include awards of stock-based compensation. Our benefits packages include, but are not limited to, health insurance, a retirement plan, an employee stock purchase plan, flexible spending accounts, life and accidental injury insurance, long- and short-term disability, and paid time off for holidays, vacation, personal choice holidays, sick time and parental leave. We also encourage training and development through Globalstar University, which is an online platform that hosts a variety of training programs ranging from leadership and management programs to technical, on the job training. Employee engagement is also important for us, and includes an interactive wellness program, corporate communications and employee surveys. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is part of our worldwide culture, which our employees confirmed in our most recent employee survey with "Diversity and Inclusion" continues as one of the highest rated culture categories. In response to COVID-19 mitigation measures, we remain focused on the health and safety of our employees. We continue to encourage remote working arrangements and accommodate flexible work schedules, as needed. Seasonality Usage on the network and, to some extent, sales are subject to seasonal and situational changes. April through October are typically our peak months for usage-based service revenues and equipment sales. We also experience event-driven revenue fluctuations in our business. Most notably, emergencies, natural disasters and other sizable projects where satellite-based communications devices are the only solution may generate an increase in revenue. In the consumer area, SPOT devices sales are influenced by outdoor and leisure activity opportunities, as well as our holiday promotions. Services and Equipment Sales of services accounted for approximately 85%, 88% and 86% of our total revenues for 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We also sell the related voice and data equipment to our customers, which accounted for approximately 15%, 12% and 14% of our total revenues for 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. Additional Information We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The SEC maintains an internet site that contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information that issuers (including Globalstar) file electronically with the SEC. Our electronic SEC filings are available to the public at the SEC's internet site, www.sec.gov . We make available free of charge financial information, news releases, SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports on our website at www.globalstar.com as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The documents available on, and the contents of, our website are not incorporated by reference into this Report.