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Emergency call via satellite: Can only be used with the current iPhone models
Photo: Apple
At the presentation of the iPhone 14 series in September, the possibility of being able to use a smartphone to call for help in remote areas was a big topic.
The promise: If there is neither a WLAN nor a mobile phone connection, the new iPhones can send an emergency call via satellite and share their own position.
This feature went live in the US and Canada on Tuesday.
Sometime in December, according to Apple, the system will also be launched in Great Britain, Ireland, France and Germany.
The company did not give an exact date for this.
The emergency call service is free for the first two years after the initial activation of an iPhone.
For users who bought an iPhone 14 before the launch of the service, the rule applies that the two-year period begins with the availability date of satellite emergency calls.
If you want to continue using the offer after the free phase, you have to take out a subscription.
$450 million for US and Canada only
Apple has not yet revealed how much that will cost.
Marketing chief Greg Joswiak points out that the company has not only invested in the hardware for satellite communications in the new iPhones.
According to Joswiak, his company has also built “a reliable local infrastructure”.
The fact that Apple spent 450 million dollars on the infrastructure in the USA and Canada alone shows how important the group considers emergency call functions to be.
According to a press release, the bulk of this sum went to the satellite operator Globalstar.
300 employees work there to keep the system running.
Users should not feel anything of this complexity in extreme situations.
In an emergency, all you need to do is answer a few simple questions about the nature and severity of the problem.
The system then puts together a text message that, in addition to the answers, also sends the position determined by GPS and – if available – the emergency pass stored in the iPhone to an emergency call center.
Find the right direction
Then the potentially tricky part begins, which is aligning the iPhone to an available satellite.
This is important because the satellite connections only work if you point the smartphone directly at the satellite.
Here the system should help with a graphic representation to find the correct direction.
However, obstacles such as trees, buildings or rocks can interfere with the connection.
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If there is contact with the satellite, the message is sent.
In order to limit the amount of data, Apple has developed a new compression algorithm that "reduces the average size of messages by 300 percent so that transmission is as fast as possible."
Nevertheless, it is said that the transmission of a message takes at least 15 seconds "in good conditions".
Voice messages or even telephone calls are not possible.
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Searched, found: With the "Where is?" app you can share your position via satellite
Photo: Apple
To avoid iPhone users sending test messages to emergency call centers because they want to try out the function, Apple offers a demo mode.
It will be found in the
settings
under
Notruf SOS/Notruf SOS via satellite
when the function is launched in Germany.
Once you have activated it, you first get a short introduction and can then try to establish a connection to a satellite yourself.
If this is successful, you play through a simulated emergency call.
Anyone who wants to tell relatives or family where they are when they are on a trip to areas that are not covered by mobile communications can do so without having to call the emergency services via the satellite connection.
Apple has built a function into the "Where is?" app that allows you to share your location with others via satellite.
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