The first iPhone to feature Emergency SOS through satellite is Apple's iPhone 14, which debuted in September. On Thursday, Apple asserted that the major feature was made possible by the nearly half a billion dollars in the U.S it has put in American infrastructure.
Further Information About the Satellite Connection Network
At an event in September, Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro while giving attendees a sneak peek at Emergency SOS by satellite, a function unique to the new phones that allows users to contact emergency services even if they don't have Wi-Fi or terrestrial cell coverage. The user is instructed to hold the phone in place until it connects to a satellite using software that comes with the device. Satellites in low Earth orbit get pre-formatted emergency texts from the phone (LEO). Relay messages to ground-based stations, where they are passed to emergency responders, who then use the specific position coordinates to send in rescue crews. Apple announced that the new service, which will launch in November, will be free for the first two years. Both Canada and the United States will have access to it.
Apple announced in a statement that it has set aside $450 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to help with the rollout of the new functionality. To make Emergency SOS by satellite function, Apple has partnered with Globalstar, a global satellite service, and the majority of that money will be used to upgrade its infrastructure. Cobham Satcom, a California-based maker of satellite and radio communication technology, has fitted the ground stations that receive the satellite signals with brand-new, high-power antennas developed especially for Apple.
Apple announced in a statement that it has set aside $450 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to help with the rollout of the new functionality. To make Emergency SOS by satellite function, Apple has partnered with Globalstar, a global satellite service, and the majority of that money will be used to upgrade its infrastructure. Cobham Satcom, a California-based maker of satellite and radio communication technology, has fitted the ground stations that receive the satellite signals with brand-new, high-power antennas developed especially for Apple.
The iPhone 14 users will be able to connect to emergency services when off the grid because of Apple's investment, which brings vital improvements to Globalstar's satellite network and ground stations, the company claimed. Despite the fact that the iPhone 14 service is only available in North America, Globalstar points out that it has 24 ground stations spread out over six continents. In addition, Apple said that Cobham Satcom's newly developed ground antennas were installed at all of Globalstar's ground stations throughout the world, including the ones already in Texas, Alaska, Florida, and Puerto Rico, as well as the new ones created in Nevada and Hawaii.
Apple announced $430 billion in investments over five years in the US in April 2021. Over that time, the company predicted that the investments would result in the creation of over 20,000 new jobs in the US. The $430 billion exceeds Apple's previous $350 billion five-year promise, which it made in 2018. Tens of billions of dollars were set aside for the creation of 5G and the development of next-generation silicon, and more than $1 billion was set aside for the establishment of a new Apple campus and engineering hub in the North Carolina Research Triangle region.
