Apple involvement with satellite communication company
In Apples latest service launch they teamed up with Satellite company Globalstar (NYSE: GSAT) and Cobham Satcom to provide connectivity to and from iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro devices.
“A $450 million investment from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund provides the critical infrastructure that supports Emergency SOS via satellite for iPhone 14 models. Available to customers in the US and Canada beginning later this month, the new service will allow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.”
In 2021, Apple announced an acceleration in its US investments, with plans to make new contributions of more than $430 billion over a five-year period.
How the SOS system works
When an iPhone user makes an Emergency SOS via satellite request, the message is received by one of Globalstar’s 24 satellites in low-earth orbit traveling at speeds of approximately 16,000 mph. The satellite then sends the message down to custom ground stations located at key points all over the world.
The ground stations use new high-power antennas designed and manufactured specifically for Apple by Cobham Satcom in Concord, California. Cobham’s employees engineer and manufacture the high-powered antennas, which will receive signals transmitted by the satellite constellation. Along with communicating via text with emergency services, iPhone users can launch their Find My app and share their location via satellite when there is no cellular and Wi-Fi connection, providing a sense of security when off the typical communications grid.
Once received by a ground station, the message is routed to emergency services that can dispatch help, or a relay center with Apple-trained emergency specialists if local emergency services cannot receive text messages.
Where is the SOS system available
Emergency SOS via satellite is available in the US and Canada starting today, November 15, and will come to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December.
Links:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426
https://investors.globalstar.com
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