Globalstar Gets Big Bump Following FCC News

Shares of Globalstar, Inc. GSAT are soaring 30 percent on Monday after the company received some positive news from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Earlier this year, the FCC rejected Globalstar’s proposal to use satellite signal frequencies to distribute its mobile broadband services. The FCC rejected the original plan on the grounds that Globalstar would gain a special competitive advantage. Globalstar rivals also argued that the approach could interfere with other mobile devices.

Globalstar filed a revised proposal on November 9, and the new proposal seems to have addressed the FCC’s primary concerns.
“Globalstar’s Revised Proposal provides significant protections to adjacent operations, expands the nation’s broadband spectrum supply and will improve wireless broadband service for consumers in the United States,” the company said in a press release on December 16.

Despite the big Monday move, Globalstar shares are still down 4.1 percent in 2016 and significantly off 2016 highs in the $3 range. FCC chairman Tom Wheeler will be resigning in January, and the Trump administration will be tasked with filling two vacant FCC positions.

At least one options trader is optimistic about the news. Following the report, there was nearly 5,000 in volume on January 2017 $3.0 Globalstar call options. The stock would need to more than double by the end of January for those options to be in-the-money.