ORBCOMM Inc. - 10-K filing on 2016-03-10

Acquisitions - Additional Information (Detail) $ / shares in Units, € in Thousands, $ in Thousands									1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 06, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 16, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 11, 2014 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Mar. 11, 2014 EUR (€) shares	Oct. 01, 2013 USD ($)	Apr. 03, 2013 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2013 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 EUR (€) shares	Jan. 01, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 11, 2014 EUR (€)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Portion of contingent consideration in accrued expenses											$ 1,115
Period for amount kept in escrow account										up to fifteen months
Acquisition of net assets, net of cash acquired										$ 141,575	28,883	$ 7,076
Average closing price of distribution event										20 days
WAM Technologies, LLC [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Aggregate consideration payable in cash and common stock	$ 8,500
Acquisition effective date										Oct. 06, 2015
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations	$ 1,100
Cash consideration paid										$ 8,500
WAM Technologies, LLC [Member] \| Indemnification Asset [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations										$ 1,100
WAM Technologies, LLC [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										26.00%
InSync Software, Inc [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Aggregate consideration payable in cash and common stock		$ 11,642
Acquisition effective date										Jan. 16, 2015
Cash consideration paid		11,100
Working capital settlement		$ 1,320
Outstanding equity percentage		100.00%
Increase (decrease) in goodwill										$ 134
Business acquisition contingent consideration at fair value		$ 542
Contingent consideration accretion recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses										$ 542
InSync Software, Inc [Member] \| Indemnification Asset [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations		1,320
InSync Software, Inc [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										15.00%
InSync Software, Inc [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration payable		$ 5,000
SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Aggregate consideration payable in cash and common stock			$ 130,203
Acquisition effective date										Jan. 01, 2015
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations														$ 10,600
Cash consideration paid			122,373
Working capital settlement			$ 300
Outstanding equity percentage														100.00%
Increase (decrease) in goodwill										$ (969)
Arrangement Agreement date										Nov. 01, 2014
Business acquisition, settled by promissory note														$ 7,500
SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc. [Member] \| Indemnification Asset [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations														9,750
Pre-closing tax amount deposited in escrow account														850
Working capital amount deposited in escrow account														$ 503
Tax liability settlements										$ 330
SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc. [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										23.00%
Euroscan Holding B.V. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Aggregate consideration payable in cash and common stock				$ 29,163	€ 20,999
Acquisition effective date										Mar. 11, 2014
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations \| €													€ 1,000
Outstanding equity percentage				100.00%											100.00%
Contingent consideration payable \| €															€ 4,714
Increase (decrease) in goodwill											674
Contingent consideration accretion recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses										$ 307	439
Number of common stock shares issued for consideration \| shares				291,230,000	291,230,000
Common stock issued, per share \| $ / shares				$ 7.70
Change in fair value of earn-outs amounts										1,303	1,595
Portion of contingent consideration in accrued expenses											989
Portion of contingent consideration in other non-current liabilities										1,719	2,663
Payment on achievement of milestone										$ 992
Escrow amount to be released \| €													€ 250
Euroscan Holding B.V. [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										17.50%
Euroscan Holding B.V. [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration payable				$ 6,547
SENS [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition effective date										Oct. 01, 2013
Cash consideration paid						$ 1,978
SENS [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										43.00%
GlobalTrak [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition effective date										Apr. 03, 2013
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations										$ 500
Cash consideration paid							$ 2,904
Working capital settlement							$ 86
Increase (decrease) in goodwill									$ (167)		(167)
Adjustment in goodwill and warrant liability due to acquisition									250		250
Escrow disbursement agreement										one-half of the $500, less the aggregate amount of claims made by the Company against SPC within six months from April 3, 2013.
Claim settled amount through third party escrow agent									$ 167
GlobalTrak [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										37.00%
MobileNet [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition effective date										Apr. 01, 2013
Change in fair value of earn-outs amounts										$ 18	902	$ 621
Portion of contingent consideration in other non-current liabilities											$ 16
Acquisition of net assets, net of cash acquired								$ 6,404
Discount percentage										18.00%			18.00%
Shares deposited into escrow account \| shares										164,672			164,672
Shares of common stock that were released from escrow account \| shares											164,672
MobileNet [Member] \| Technology and Trademarks [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets										24.00%
MobileNet [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration accretion recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses										$ 1	$ 1