Posted on 12/03/2022 4:48:05 AM PST by algore
In the early hours of the morning on December 1, Alaska State Troopers received an alert that a man traveling by snow machine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had become stranded. The man was in a cold, remote location with no connectivity, and he activated the Emergency SOS via satellite feature on his iPhone 14 to alert authorities to his predicament.
Apple's Emergency Response Center worked with local search and rescue teams and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator to send out volunteer searchers directly to the GPS coordinates that were relayed to Apple using the emergency function.
The man was rescued successfully and there were no injuries. The area where he was located is remote and on the fringes of where satellite connectivity is available. Apple says that satellite connectivity might not work in places above 62° latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska, and Noorvik and Kotzebue are close to 69° latitude.
Troopers who helped with the rescue were "impressed with the accuracy and completeness of information included in the initial alert," with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature designed to ask several questions ahead of when an alert is sent out to expedite rescue missions.
Emergency Satellite via SOS is available to all iPhone 14 users, and it can be activated when an emergency situation occurs and there is no WiFi or cellular connection available. The feature is free to use for two years, and Apple has not yet provided detail on how much it will cost going forward.
Satellite connectivity is available in North America at the current time, and it will soon expand to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK.
This ain’t your grandma’s flip phone.... great product, great story.
As much as I despise Apple and everything it stands for a phone like this would be a good idea.
You can find some sat phones for cheaper. Just another option when traveling through Canada and Alaska.
I have to wonder if Musk’s talk with Tim Cook the other day included some discussion about connecting to musks internet satellites?
Yeah but the people who need one aren’t going to have one. This is a great emergency option.
Not when they unveil another monthly subscription. They would charge you to breathe in and out daily, if they could.
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A satellite phone cost as little as $29.99 per week to rent for each unit.
But never China.
Proof that it works. I carry Garmin InReach when I venture off-grid.
“You can find some sat phones for cheaper.”
The Garmin Montana 700i is $699.
“A satellite phone cost as little as $29.99 per week to rent for each unit.”
How much for the year?
“Proof that it works. I carry Garmin InReach when I venture off-grid.”
I carry my handheld transceiver that I use when flying my glider. The emergency frequency 121.5 is always monitored. An aircraft will hear you and send help.
Tesla is working on a smart phone that uses satellite communications. Will supposedly have a solar panel on the back so it can charge anywhere during the day, and if no cellular connection is available, it will directly communicate via the Starlink satellites. Not in widespread use until they get more version2 Starlink satellites in space - these can communicate to mobile devices without a cumbersome antenna dish.
Going to need some non-economical, subsidized, polar orbit satellites to provide coverage for high latitudes.
I don’t know what satellites Apple depends on. As for Tesla phones, they will use SpaceX gen2 Starlink satellites which are huge and will depend on the Starship for mass deployment to space. The SpaceX gen1 Starlink satellites are being deployed via Falcon9 rockets, and utilize small dish antennas that interconnect with ground cellular stations. Starship is still going through testing, regular use won’t happen until later in 2023. Suborbital launch expected this month, or in January.
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