I wonder if Apple expects the government to institute similar requirements soon for satellite (if that’s possible) and this won’t cost anything.
In the meanwhile, Apple is using it as a differentiated feature.
(Assuming free meaning "any device can connect, regardless of subscription status". In this case, Apple is essentially subsidizing the service costs for their users, and only for a limited time - there is still a paid subscription on the backend.)
It's worth noting that the government already offers free distress alerting via the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system - though it's one-way communication only. It would be interesting if a future iteration of the system allowed for smaller antennas and two-way communication with the rescue coordination center dispatchers.
It's interesting because it was never intended to work like that, it's basically just a hack that uses a test signal to dispatch an "I'm ok" message
By one-way communication, I was referring to the default "I'm in distress, here's my coordinates, send help" message, which is the only message the system can officially transmit. There's no way to carry on a two-way conversation to collect further details, or even a mechanism to acknowledge the message - though due to a very robust system design, it's very unlikely the message wouldn't get received.
I had to use it once, believe it or not, when I almost died in the mother of all ironies - in the middle of Death Valley, California.
The U.S. Air Force directed an ambulance in my direction from a nearby town.
Have a COSPAS-SARSAT emergency beacon is all I am saying. They are expensive, but it's a one-time purchase. The service is free.
Mandatory 911 sat service on phones that support will save a lot of lives!!
How many people have died in the US because they were in distress but did not have cell phone coverage and were in a position where they could send a transmission to a satellite (e.g. clear view of the sky, etc.)?
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/nyregion/29crash.html
I had a similar issue in Maine a few years ago except it was summer and I just had to walk 30 minutes. It definitely happens.
Off the top of my head (local news or cases I have heard of from fellow hikers):
One keeled over dead, on the trail and part of a group.
Two diabetics, alone but not lost.
One found dead on the trail, apparently an insta-kill medical issue.
One lost, never found, but I suspect he was actually a suicide. If not, he was trying for a Darwin.
One near the road going for help after a vehicle breakdown.
One got cliffed out trying to go for help after a vehicle breakdown. Not really lost, but unable to proceed.
One disappeared, his body hasn't been found where he was expected to be but given his experience level lost is unlikely. Personally, I suspect he went off trail for something and keeled over.
There have also been two skeletons pulled out of the desert, probably lost but it's unlikely we will ever know.
Admittedly, a small sample but note that only 20% of those appear to be lost.
I've also talked to a woman who just about became one of those statistics--new to the area and didn't respect the heat. Not lost.
Most wilderness deaths are medical or accident, not lost, and a lot of national park deaths are traffic accidents.
https://www.biometrica.com/into-the-abyss-how-people-go-miss...
I'm pretty sure apple will advertise it in next year's iPhone event though
In the rest of the world too.