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Apple Expected to Expand Emergency SOS via Satellite to the UK on December 13

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Apple could expand the Emergency SOS via Satellite and Find My via satellite functionality to the United Kingdom as soon as next week, according to a source that spoke to MacRumors. Emergency services personnel in the country have been told that calls from the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature will be routed to local emergency services facilities starting on Tuesday, December 13.

Emergency-SOS-via-Satellite-iPhone-YT.jpg

Emergency SOS via Satellite launched in the United States and Canada last month, and at the time, Apple said that it would expand to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December. Apple did not provide a specific date, but the December 13 date we've heard from the UK source makes sense. It is not clear if the expansion will also include France, Germany, and Ireland, but it seems likely, and this could also be the day we see iOS 16.2 launch.

Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is available to all iPhone 14 users running iOS 16.1 in supported countries and it is free to use for two years. It is designed to allow iPhone users to make emergency calls using satellite connectivity outdoors when no cellular or WiFi connection is available.


Satellite connectivity can also be used to update a Find My location without WiFi or cellular connectivity through the Find My app.

Article Link: Apple Expected to Expand Emergency SOS via Satellite to the UK on December 13
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/12/07/emergency-sos-via-satellite-uk-launch-december-13/
Oh goody. I still can't get lost in the middle of nowhere here (the UK). I've tried.

Was out in one of the most remote bits of Peak District in the middle of last winter at night, unzipped to go for a pee and someone appeared with a head torch!

Same bloody thing happened a few years back when I was bagging some Munros.
 
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Ashwee said:
Pretty useless in the UK given the good network coverage by all the main network providers
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Really has more to do with the relative size and population density of the UK. It has an area of 243,610 Km², with a population density of 281 per Km² By comparison, the United States is 9.834 million Km², with a population density of 36 per Km². Lot easier to provide cellular coverage in the much smaller area and more reason to cover areas that are more population dense. Simply doesn't make sense to build a tower out in the middle of nowhere in the US, that'll serve no one 99.9% of the time (especially when there are other areas that'd benefit far more from the additional investment in such).
 
tomtad said:
A Brexit benefit 💝
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It's going to be in EU countries alongside the UK too.

www.apple.com

Emergency SOS via satellite available today on iPhone 14 lineup

Apple’s groundbreaking safety service Emergency SOS via satellite becomes available to customers in the US and Canada starting today.
www.apple.com

iPhone 14 users can now connect with emergency services when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage are not available; the service extends to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December.
 
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Ashwee said:
Pretty useless in the UK given the good network coverage by all the main network providers
Click to expand...
Wouldn’t say useless at all. I was in the middle of the cairngorms this summer and was without any service for most of the trip - would have been great if my wife/family could have tracked me on ‘find my’ - we used a satellite tracker that cost around £70 for the trip instead
 
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Does anyone know if this feature will include maritime locations, that would be forwarded to a local Coast Guard?
 
There are few locations in the UK with no phone signal on any network. Roaming has been available for many years in the UK when making emergency calls, so the phone will search for signal on any network. I’m sure the service will assist in some limited circumstances, but it’s not as useful as in other countries with large remote areas or weak infrastructure.
 
markfc said:
Never being more than 5 mins from a McDonalds or a greggs it seems fairly pointless in the UK 😂
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A few years ago my sister and some work colleagues did a charity walk up a mountain in Northumberland. The weather unexpectedly turned and starting snowing heavily, and they got stranded. One person lost a shoe in the snow and almost lost their foot due to hypothermia. They had no signal and couldn’t my get in contact with anyone.
Fortunately they were all NHS staff and the charity they were walking for was the air ambulance, so people in the emergency services went looking for them when they never showed up at the agreed time.

Emergency SOS could have got them all down much quicker that day, and saved them from having to endure as much as they went though.

There is still many areas of the U.K. without a phone signal, and these tend to be the most dangerous areas in bad weather etc.
 
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bigchrisfgb said:
A few years ago my sister and some work colleagues did a charity walk up a mountain on Northumberland. The weather unexpectedly turned and starting snowing heavily, and they got stranded. One person lost a shoe in the snow and almost lost their foot due to hypothermia. They had no signal and couldn’t my get in contact with anyone.
Fortunately they were all NHS staff and the charity they were walking for was the air ambulance, so people in the emergency services went looking for them when they never showed up at the agreed time.

Emergency SOS could have got them all down much quicker that day, and saved them from having to endure as much as they went though.

There is still many areas of the U.K. without a phone signal, and these tend to be the most dangerous areas in bad weather etc.
Click to expand...

Wow what a frightening situation! I’m glad they were alright!
 
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Seeing as the UK has one of the worst mobile networks I've ever used (for such a tiny place), they desperately need this.

Honestly, my parents live in what is no longer a village (used to be less than 2,000 as a child), and now it's 10 times as large, and it's right in the middle of the M4 corridor. (Basically one of the biggest artery routes into London). Even with that grown, I can barely get a 4G signal, there are black-spots all over the place. It's pretty pathetic.

Then in "poor" Spain, I can cycle up to the top of a 2,500 m mountain with barely a soul in sight and have five full bars of 4G, and in towns I have blanket 5G everywhere.

Having said that, I have ended up in very desolate valleys without even a single bar, (forgivable since I am literally in the middle of nowhere, and I won't see a car or human for hours and I frequently lose my mobile connectivity.

Apple. Please prioritise Spain! Thank you.
 
Not sure if European users like subscriptions as much as American users. Here is is very tough to sell something that costs money every month although you might never need it. Does the small UK really have any areas without satellite reception? If not, it would only have any use if UK citizens travel abroad.
 
Skyscraperfan said:
Not sure if European users like subscriptions as much as American users. Here is is very tough to sell something that costs money every month although you might never need it. Does the small UK really have any areas without satellite reception? If not, it would only have any use if UK citizens travel abroad.
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When I lived in Scotland, I went to the Isle of Mull on the west coast. Technically there is only like one main road running around the island and if you loose gas you may be walking for quite some time. Someone may come along but I wouldn’t chance it out there since the island is sorta big. Depending on where you are on the island this could be a little helpful
 
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