Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, Nov. 10 (Xinhua)-- Apple announced that the iPhone 14 satellite SOS emergency call service will be launched in the United States and Canada "later this month" and revealed that so far, $450 million has been spent on facilities, technology and personnel to create the service.

The new emergency SOS service works by enabling stranded users to send text messages calling for help through a satellite network. Apple has revealed that this will require an entire satellite network, plus a series of call centers in the United States and Canada.

Now Apple has announced a grant from its advanced manufacturing fund, which has been used to help create super-ceramic crystals and bring in hundreds of jobs.

"the SOS emergency call via satellite is a perfect example of Americans saving lives with intelligence and technology," Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "We are proud that this service is enabled by leading American companies, and our users can explore offline areas and know that they are still within the scope of emergency services when needed." (in fact, Huawei Mate 50 series and other mobile phones can already enable Beidou satellite message service.)

"most of the money goes to Globalstar, which owns and operates satellite networks," Apple said. Globalstar reportedly employs more than 300 people to support Apple's new services.

"sending emergency signals directly to satellites through iPhone is an advance of the times in the field of satellite communications," Globalstar Executive Chairman Jay Monroe said in a statement. "We are proud that Globalstar's satellite and spectrum assets will play a central role in saving lives."

"through Apple's infrastructure investment, our teams in California and elsewhere have been developed to build, expand and upgrade our ground stations," Jay Monroe continued. "We look forward to the next chapter in Globalstar life-saving technology."

Apple said most of the $450 million investment will provide key enhancements to the Globalstar satellite network and ground stations in Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Puerto Rico and Texas to ensure that iPhone 14 / Pro users can connect to emergency services when they leave the network.

Infrastructure investment includes the addition of new antennas to all Globalstar facilities. These high-power antennas are designed and manufactured for Apple by Cobham Satcom, a Concord, Calif.-based company.

CTOnews.com learned that emergency messages sent through communications satellites, such as the American version of the iPhone 14 series, support long-rumored emergency messages, called emergency SOS. When the user is not within the range of the mobile phone signal, the antenna of the mobile phone can be connected to satellite communication. Through the custom short text compression algorithm, the size of the message can be reduced by 3 times. When the sky is clear, the time to send a message is less than 15 seconds, and satellite location sharing is supported. In the field of field scenes, emergency rescue and other fields, satellite communication functions can play specific functions. You can also use the "Find My" application to share locations without sending messages.

When iPhone users request an SOS emergency signal via satellite, one of Globalstar's 24 satellites, which are flying at about 16000 mph in low-Earth orbit, will receive the message. The satellite then sends the information to customized ground stations located at key points around the world.

Once the ground station receives the message, it is forwarded to an emergency service that can send rescue, and if the nearest emergency service is unable to receive text messages, it is forwarded to a relay center for emergency experts trained by Apple.

In a supporting document, Apple said emergency distress signals sent by satellite would be provided in the November iOS 16 software update. And made it available free of charge in the first two years.

Apple reportedly confirmed that the iPhone 14 series of satellite functions will be extended to more countries by the end of next year, but did not elaborate on these plans.

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