Oliver Haslam·

iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Made Possible Thanks To $450m Investment, Launching Later This Month

Apple says that the new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature coming to iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 models later this month was only made possible in the United States and Canada thanks to $450 million of investment.

The investment was made by Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, a press release says.

The feature uses Globalstar satellites to allow people to make an emergency communication even when they don’t have access to a cellular network.

A majority of the funding goes to Globalstar, a global satellite service headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, with facilities across the US. Apple’s investment provides critical enhancements to Globalstar’s satellite network and ground stations, ensuring iPhone 14 users are able to connect to emergency services when off the grid. At Globalstar, more than 300 employees support the new service.

Apple goes on to say that the feature “utilizes the spectrum in L and S bands specially designated for mobile satellite services by ITU Radio Regulations” adding that it uses 24 satellites traveling at up to 16,000mph.

Those satellites take the signal from the iPhone and relay it to a ground station which then dispatches emergency services.

Apple also confirmed that the feature will be made available on all iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models in the United States and Canada later this month, having said something similar during the iPhone announcement in September.

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