Along with the launch of the iPhone 14 smartphone series in 2022, Apple announced the Emergency SOS satellite calling feature. The company utilized the infrastructure of the American satellite service provider GlobalStar for this purpose. It has now been revealed that Apple has allocated $1.1 billion as part of a new agreement with GlobalStar to enhance its satellite infrastructure capacity.
Additionally, Apple has acquired a 20% stake in GlobalStar through a $400 million investment deal. These investments are expected to significantly boost GlobalStar's ability to handle satellite messaging requests from iPhone users.
The Apple Emergency SOS satellite service initially offered two years of free usage, which has since been extended by another year. This means that iPhone 14 users who purchased their device from day one will have support until November 2025.
With iOS 18, Apple announced two-way messaging via satellite in areas without cellular coverage. This feature is available on the iPhone 14 and newer devices with supported carriers in the U.S. and Canada. It remains unclear 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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