Nearly a year has passed since Apple introduced the iPhone 14 featuring Emergency SOS via Satellite, allowing users to reach out to emergency services even in areas without cellular coverage. And Globalstar, Apple’s partner in providing satellites for this technology, could soon expand its coverage thanks to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Globalstar partners with SpaceX for Apple’s Emergency SOS
As reported by NOLA.com, Globalstar has signed a $64 million deal with SpaceX to send satellites into space in 2025. The news was confirmed through a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These satellites will play a crucial role in expanding the emergency SOS services provided by Globalstar.
This collaboration isn’t the first between Musk’s company and Globalstar, as SpaceX previously assisted Globalstar in launching a satellite from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last year.
Notably, the partnership between Globalstar and SpaceX will directly benefit Apple because the iPhone 14 (and soon the iPhone 15) uses Globalstar satellites to enable the Emergency SOS feature.
Emergency SOS via Satellite is currently available in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal. It works with any iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro model as long as you’re in a location covered by satellite connectivity. And thanks to the new partnership, the coverage could be further expanded soon.
Apple may have more ambitious satellite plans
Last year, a new patent granted to Apple hinted at the possibility that the company’s satellite ambitions could go beyond basic text communication and emergency services.
The patent discusses the transmission of satellite communications data through transceivers and antenna radiators. This includes various types of information, including media content such as streaming videos and television data, as well as voice data like phone conversations and internet data.
Of course, the patent doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple will expand the satellite features on the iPhone, but it does suggest that the company has at least been exploring ways of doing so.
- Family rescued from wildfires in Maui thanks to iPhone’s Emergency SOS via Satellite
- How iPhone 14’s satellite-based emergency SOS compares to T-Mobile/SpaceX Starlink solution
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