They've been around a while. In the early days of cell phone tech they were the only satellite cell phone provider ..used then for extreme hikers/explorers who go places without cell signals and cost like $10/min to use.
Emergency comms kinda thing, but I'm sure they had larger plans that that like global positioning or military use. But I remember them from the early 2000s at least.
Also random. someone referred to james woods. Not sure why…he's not one of us. I think he was aware of 911 prior. He was one of the interviews who "missed" his flight.