Yes, most of Yellowstone Park doesn't have service - and I don't just mean the places you have to hike 10 miles to get to. Basically away from the various villages there's no service, even on the park roads.
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First Look at Messages via Satellite in iOS 18
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I tested share my location via satellite while on a plane from Germany to the UK. Over the ocean I got the message location via satellite not available, as I approached the U.K. mainland it managed to send. I had to have my phone right up against the window, but it did work. You may have to be in a country where the option is already active for this to work. I imagine the new text via satellite will be similar. Has anyone else tried sending their location while flying or on a cruise while over or on the ocean?
Someone will need to back me up on this, but I think Apple works with Globalstar, and I don't believe Globalstar works like Starlink.
Starlink and Iridium have satellite-satellite links that offer true global coverage away from ground stations. Globalstar (again, I think) satellites act only as an up-down ground station relay, so are more limited to land masses with active ground stations. Some of their coverage maps to appear to show Atlantic coverage, but the quality won't be as good since the satellite will be at a much lower relative angle in the sky.
I'm wondering if the iPhone satellite transmitter is a power compromise and works mostly in ideal situations on land since mid-atlantic would be an edge-case.
I can see this being how they monetize it.
I think it will be difficult to ever charge for the SOS satellite feature, as they’ve done it for free for 2 years now. And people are unlikely to pay for something that most will never use, even if the benefits when you use it are huge.
But they could charge for the messaging feature, which could support the entire satellite part of the business. I’d they ever could get to photos, that would be huge, as people could be in contact all the time
Of course, breathing down their necks (or nearly, the necks of the carriers, not a Apple so much) is the T-Mobile/Starlink deal to allow phones to use their regular antenas to connect to Starlink. That would partially displace cell towers, and given the number and low elevation of Starlink satellites, could much more easily allow photos and even phone calls, and perhaps eventually video and slow internet usage. A much more robust, and easier to use, system them Apple. And given that SpaceX effectively subsidizes Starlink by using old rockets and ad an opportunity to get rocket experience and reliability, it’s hard to see anyone else competing in that space in the next decade. But it would work with iPhones (and most phones) on TMobile, so it wouldn’t directly undercut Apple.
Yes, I was thinking that by the time we get it in Australia Starlink will have their service up
I live in a valley and the cell coverage by AT&T has gotten worse through the years. I'll be switching soon.
Don’t get your hopes up for Verizon being much better… Verizon’s CDMA used to have incredible reach, but that protocol is no longer active.
ATT has been building out towers for their FirstNet grant, while Verizon has been largely coasting. At least in the areas of the Rocky Mountains, ATT is now king by a large margin for coverage (can’t speak to speed, but I can speak to VZW dead zones that are new after the CDMA shutdown).
My advice is to get a cheap MNVO VZW plan and activate it on your dual sim to test for coverage first. You might be surprised!
What I have experienced out here is that Verizon has the same towers - they just don’t reach as far anymore. Whereas ATT built out new towers like crazy for FirstNet. Cities may be different… we are pretty rural.
Bwahahaha.... funny. Too bad anyone under 50 doesn't get it. 🤣
Most people here will deny it because they can’t accept facts.
What’s old in China is new again in the U.S.
I don’t believe Apple would ever charge for SOS feature, but it’s possible for them to charge for message.
If they don’t, the EU will say they are being anti competitive because it’d give Apple an advantage, and god forbid Apple do something that could be seen as better than competition.