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Percentage of equity in the acquiree held by the acquirer immediately before the acquisition date in a business combination.

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Acquisitions - Additional Information (Detail) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands				12 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jun. 09, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	May 26, 2016 USD ($) Customer	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition-related contingent consideration at fair value					$ 10,611	$ 514
Accrued liabilities				$ 35,735	33,016
Portion of contingent consideration in accrued expenses				$ 2,063
Estimated Useful Life (years)				10 years 6 months
Customer Lists [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life (years)				10 years 10 months 24 days
Inthinc [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition effective date		Jun. 09, 2017
Cash consideration paid		$ 34,236
Number of common stock shares issued for consideration \| shares		76,796
Common stock issued, per share \| $ / shares		$ 9.95
Total consideration of preliminary purchase price		$ 44,835
Acquisition-related contingent consideration at fair value		$ 9,835
Increase (decrease) in goodwill				$ 156
Number of trading days for average closing price		20 days
Additional product obligations assumed through acquisition		$ 1,032
Accrued liabilities				546
Intangible assets		$ 16,000
Inthinc [Member] \| Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Portion of contingent consideration in other non-current liabilities					9,313
Inthinc [Member] \| Accrued Expenses [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Portion of contingent consideration in accrued expenses				2,063
Inthinc [Member] \| SG&A [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Reduction in fair value of earn-outs amounts				7,250	795
Contingent consideration accretion recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses					274
Inthinc [Member] \| Indemnification Asset [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations				1,000
Amount received from escorw to partially fund working capital adjustment and indemnification obligations				1,000
Inthinc [Member] \| Customer Lists and Technology [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets		12.00%
Inthinc [Member] \| Customer Lists [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets		$ 12,400
Estimated Useful Life (years)		15 years
Inthinc [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration payable		$ 25,000
Skygistics Ltd. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition effective date			May 26, 2016
Cash consideration paid			$ 3,835
Total consideration of preliminary purchase price			$ 4,349
Arrangement Agreement date			Apr. 11, 2016
Business acquisition contingent consideration at fair value			$ 514
Intangible assets			$ 1,545
Skygistics Ltd. [Member] \| Telematics And Enterprise Customers [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of customers \| Customer			250
Skygistics Ltd. [Member] \| SG&A [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Reduction in fair value of earn-outs amounts					$ 519
Skygistics Ltd. [Member] \| Indemnification Asset [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations				757
Skygistics Ltd. [Member] \| Customer Lists [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets			19.00%
Intangible assets			$ 1,545
Estimated Useful Life (years)			13 years
Skygistics Ltd. [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration payable			$ 954
ORBCOMM Technology Ireland Limited [Member] \| Blue Tree Systems Limited [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition effective date	Oct. 02, 2017
Outstanding equity percentage	100.00%
Cash consideration paid	$ 34,331
Number of common stock shares issued for consideration \| shares	191,022
Common stock issued, per share \| $ / shares	$ 10.47
Number of business day prior to closing date	1 day
Total consideration of preliminary purchase price	$ 37,107
Acquisition-related contingent consideration at fair value	776
Increase (decrease) in goodwill				393
Intangible assets	$ 12,020
ORBCOMM Technology Ireland Limited [Member] \| Blue Tree Systems Limited [Member] \| SG&A [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Reduction in fair value of earn-outs amounts				776
ORBCOMM Technology Ireland Limited [Member] \| Blue Tree Systems Limited [Member] \| Indemnification Asset [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Amount deposited in escrow to fund any indemnification obligations				$ 3,675
ORBCOMM Technology Ireland Limited [Member] \| Blue Tree Systems Limited [Member] \| Customer Lists, Technology and Tradenames [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Discount rate to reflect risk characteristics of intangible assets	26.50%
ORBCOMM Technology Ireland Limited [Member] \| Blue Tree Systems Limited [Member] \| Customer Lists [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets	$ 9,200
Estimated Useful Life (years)	10 years
ORBCOMM Technology Ireland Limited [Member] \| Blue Tree Systems Limited [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Contingent consideration payable	$ 5,750