It’s the moment you dread. You reach into your pocket or handbag—and your phone isn’t there.

A flash of panic runs through you. Where is it? Lost? Stolen? You rush online and use the “find my phone” feature to see where it may be located... and there it is, at the restaurant where you left it last night.

It’s one thing to lose your phone. It’s another to lose an asset such as a mining dump truck that costs millions. Companies with serious mobile assets and equipment in the field need their own “find my phone” feature. Fortunately, they have one, thanks to satellite connectivity.

Finding Far More than Phones

Satellite asset tracking is an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT), where machines talk to machines in ways that help help human beings.

When emergency agencies send portable generators and trailers into disaster zones, they need to know where they are and how to get them back.

Energy companies exploring for oil or gas move drilling rigs, tanks and pumps from one place to another all the time. When they know exactly where that equipment is, they can better plan for tomorrow.

Truck fleets have to make on-time deliveries and coordinate multiple pick-ups.

That’s hard to do unless your trucks are telling you where they are and where they’re going. Those are just some of the ways that customers use asset tracking technology from Globalstar.

Here’s how it works. A small device attached to each asset reads its location from GPS satellites. It transmits that location information directly to Globalstar satellites and the company returns that valuable data to their customers.

Knowledge is Key

When you know where something is located, it can tell you a lot. Did it arrive on time? Is it in the correct place? How far is it from its next scheduled destination?

For the people who have to manage those assets, it’s like a pair of magic glasses that lets them see the whole operation with one glance. That saves time and money, and keeps people safe.

“Find my phone” is great but it only works when your phone is in range of the cellular network. Globalstar satellites work everywhere, from roadways and waterways to forests, mountains and prairies.

Satellites enable the Internet of Things to work in places it never could operate before, and all from a little gadget you can hold in your hand—and a powerful network of satellites and ground stations circling the globe.

See more stories and videos of how satellite is making a better world at: https//www.bettersatellietworld.com

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