A recent story in Inside Towers entitled “Space Station Apple, What Is the Nature of Your Emergency?” came to life last week as the new service proved crucial in saving the life of a stranded snowmobiler in Alaska. The newly launched satellite’s bandwidth has limited capabilities which allow the caller to send out a quick SOS text to summon emergency assistance.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety released a notice saying on December 1, Alaska State Troopers were notified that a man traveling via snowmachine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had activated an Apple iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone after becoming stranded.
Working with local search and rescue teams, the Apple Emergency Response Center, and the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator, the agencies deployed four volunteer searchers to the Nimiuk Point area directly to the GPS coordinates provided by the Apple Emergency Response Center. The adult male was located and transported to Kotzebue by the volunteer search team. There were no injuries reported.
Apple is now extending its SOS capability to iPhone callers in France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. There are currently 24 orbiting satellites capable of picking up emergency calls coming in from Apple’s iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max phone models.
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