Apple offers Emergency SOS via satellite, a feature that allows people to connect with emergency services over their iPhones using satellite connectivity in areas without cellular or Wi-Fi networks, in 16 countries. Unfortunately, the world’s most populated country, India, isn’t on the list. New information suggests that the scenario might change soon.
According to a new report from The Hindu Businessline, Globalstar, the company that offers satellite connectivity to iPhones globally for Emergency SOS via satellite, has approached India’s Department of Telecommunication (DoT) to obtain a license for offering satellite connectivity in India. If Globalstar gets the approval, Apple will be able to offer Emergency SOS via satellite on iPhones in India as well.
Apple started offering Emergency SOS via satellite with the iPhone 14 series, which means that it is also present in the company’s latest set of smartphones, the iPhone 15 lineup. The sixteen countries where Apple offers this service include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
Recently, Apple extended the free trial of Emergency SOS via satellite for another year on the iPhone 14 series smartphones. Unfortunately, no such service exists on Android smartphones. Qualcomm was working with Iridium to launch a similar service but the partnership ended abruptly. That being said, Apple’s service might soon seem outdated as AST SpaceMobile and Starlink are working on bringing cellular networks using cellphone towers in space, which would eliminate dead spots altogether.
