A class action lawsuit has been filed against Globalstar Inc. alleging it failed to disclose persistent and significant problems with its satellite telephone service. Subscribers allege that they purchased Globalstar's satellite service and satellite telephones for the purpose of having a way to communicate to friends and family or in emergency situations when located in places where cellular and landline service is limited or unavailable. In reality, subscribers were rarely able to find a signal to make calls, and even if they did, calls rarely stayed connected beyond three minutes. Subscribers were thus left with expensive phones and satellite service that rarely worked for their essential purpose. At least one independent study revealed that problems with Globalstar's service were so severe that calls were successful (were connected and not dropped within the first three minutes) only approximately one-third of the time.
Subscribers also allege that Globalstar's satellite telephone service was deteriorating at a rapid pace, but Globalstar did not disclose this to its potential or existing customers. Despite this knowledge, Globalstar continued to promote its service as providing worldwide coverage nearly all of the time and continued to advertise its service a working virtually anywhere you can see sky, at virtually anytime.
