SAN FRANCISCO-AirTouch Communications, a partner in Globalstar L.P.- one of three low-earth-orbit satellites recently licensed by the government-is pursuing satellite-based mobile communications in Japan through a joint venture with Japanese trading company, Itochu Corp.
AirTouch has Globalstar service provider rights in several countries including the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Belgium and Portugal, and plans to form agreements with local companies in these territories to start service.
Under development by Loral-Qualcomm L.P., Globalstar plans to deploy 48 LEO satellites by 1998 to provide voice, data, fax and position-locating services.
Itochu is a $170 billion revenue-generating company involved in satellite communications in Japan.
