Globalstar USA said it has expanded the geographic coverage of its services to include almost all of Alaska, regions of the North Pacific to the International Date Line, portions of Greenland, all of Iceland and along the main shipping lanes between North America and Europe.

The expansion was made possible by upgrades to gateway earth stations in North America and Europe.

“The Globalstar phone was a complete dream and a perfect device for my journey,” said Jim Otton, a sailing enthusiast and captain of the Spirit of the Great Lakes, who used a Globalstar phone during a recent voyage across the Atlantic. The excursion from England to Rhode Island took longer than anticipated and the phone helped me stay in contract with my work and family.”

Globalstar USA is an indirect subsidiary of Vodafone Air Touch plc [VOD] and is the U.S. carrier for the worldwide satellite system built by Globalstar L.P. [GSTRF].