Apple bringing SOS via satellite services to Europe in December - SpaceNews

TAMPA, Fla. — Apple is extending its SOS via outer work for iPhone 14 smartphones to parts of Europe successful December, the institution said Nov. 15 aft bringing the capableness online crossed the United States and Canada. 

The enlargement volition alteration users extracurricular cellular and Wi-Fi sum successful France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom to nonstop basal messages to exigency services.

Customized components and bundle connected Apple’s latest iPhone models — iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max — alteration them to straight link with 1 of 24 satellites Globalstar operates successful debased Earth orbit.

The diagnostic besides enables users to stock their determination disconnected the terrestrial grid.

While constricted outer bandwidth presently restricts users to basal SOS substance messages, initially facilitated by a abbreviated questionnaire, Apple has $450 million plans to upgrade Globalstar’s network. 

Apple has besides said the work volition beryllium escaped for 2 years, leaving the doorway unfastened for perchance adding a interest for a much susceptible service.

SpaceX, Globalstar’s rival Iridium, and different outer operators some established and early-stage, are besides processing plans for direct-to-smartphone services ranging from ground SOS to 5G broadband.

The direct-to-smartphone marketplace could beryllium a game-changer for the outer communications industry, according to manufacture expert Chris Quilty of the marketplace probe steadfast Quilty Analytics.

“One of the curses of the abstraction manufacture is that it has ever been a low-volume industry,” Quilty said Nov. 9 connected the Constellations podcast sponsored by U.S. abstraction contractor Kratos.

It is “by its precise quality a standard business,” helium said, “so if the manufacture tin fig a mode to pat into the billions of handset users retired determination that person smartphones successful their hands, and marque adjacent a small spot of wealth disconnected those customers, it’s large quality for the abstraction industry.”

Many technical, commercial, and regulatory challenges basal successful the mode of higher bandwidth direct-to-smartphone services. 

These see spectrum interference issues for companies, including SpaceX, that are seeking to repurpose spectrum from mobile operators to link unmodified phones.

Apple and others looking to usage spectrum already assigned to outer operators look hardware challenges to guarantee the compatibility of their devices.

Quilty said “there’s advantages [and] disadvantages of some models, and I deliberation there’s astir apt country for occurrence for some models.”