Mississauga’s SPOT LLC is continuing to capitalize on the growing desire and need for people to be connected 24/7.
The Gen3, officially launched Monday, is a personal tracking device from the satellite messaging and emergency notification technology company whose Canadian office is located on Matheson Blvd in northern Mississauga.
“The device is capable of grabbing GPS coordinates and sending it via a satellite modem through an email address or SMS to someone’s phone,” Fintan Robb told YourMississaugaBiz.com. Robb is the director of marketing for Globalstar Canada Satellite. “It makes it universally a very simple device to be able to keep in touch in areas beyond cellular [coverage].”
SPOT LLC is a subsidiary of Globalstar.
Robb said the Canadian office helped develop the Gen3 through testing beta units and developing point-of-sale displays. “Obviously Canada is a great nation to test for these types of devices with so much area not covered by cellular,” he said, noting the rest of Gen3’s development came out of the company’s headquarters in Covington, Indiana.
The newer version offers longer battery life and better tracking options.
According to press materials, the company has sold over 200,000 satellite or GPS-enabled units and said there have been more than 2,400 life-saving events due to the use of SPOT products.
The company plans on making the $169.99 device available in outdoor adventure stores like Mountain Equipment Co-op, Bass Pro Shops, West Marine and independent retailers in August. A subscription service also starts at $149.99 per year.
In addition to marketing the product to seasonal consumers such as boaters, cottage-goers, snowmobilers, hunters and fishing enthusiasts, the company will also highlight business-related uses as well.
“There are a lot of lone workers in Canada that have to visit remote sites by themselves,” Robb said, citing the reassurance provided by the device’s emergency response system. “Instead of driving back to where they’re covered by cellular, they can press the ‘Check-in’ button and I can tell [my employer] where I am on a map.”
Globalstar’s Canadian office employs 32 people, approximately 12 of which worked on the marketing and sales strategy for the Gen3.
Karen K. Ho 