Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite function, which will be available in the iPhone 14 series later this month, was made possible by a $450 million investment in Globalstar, a US-based satellite service.
The money was obtained through Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund and will be used to upgrade the satellite network and ground stations of Globalstar. These stations have high-power antennas from California’s Cobham Satcom, and 300 people work for Globalstar to support the new service.
The service will make use of the L and S bands of spectrum that the ITU Radio Regulations created expressly for mobile satellite services. When an iPhone 14 sends a request to a satellite, one of Globalstar’s 24 low-earth orbit satellites picks it up and transmits it to a special ground station, which then sends it to emergency services.
Later this month, Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite will debut in the US and Canada. Free for the first two years, then a paid subscription; the cost has not yet been determined.
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