Along with the release of the iPhone 14 series of smartphones in 2022, Apple announced an emergency call function via satellite. For this purpose, it used the infrastructure of the American satellite service provider GlobalStar. Now it has become known that Apple has allocated $1.1 billion under a new agreement with Globalstar to expand the capacity of the latter’s satellite infrastructure.
In addition, Apple now owns a 20% stake in Globalstar through a $400 million investment deal. These investments are expected to significantly help increase Globalstar’s ability to handle satellite requests from iPhone users.
Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite service initially offered two years of free use, which was later extended for another year. This means that iPhone 14 users who bought the device from day one will have support until November 2025.
With iOS 18, Apple has announced two-way messaging via satellite in cases of lack of cellular coverage. This feature is available on iPhone 14 and newer devices on supported carriers in the US and Canada. It remains to be seen whether Apple will start charging iPhone 14 users for access to satellite messaging after the free period ends next year.
Source: gsmarena
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