Apple Gandeng Globalstar Inc., To Service Emergency Messages Via Satellite

JAKARTA - Apple Inc on Wednesday, September 7 selected Globalstar Inc as its partner to realize a feature that allows iPhone 14 users to send emergency messages from remote locations.

The tech giant said it had dedicated $450 million to its state-of-the-art manufacturing fund to satellite infrastructure to support the feature. Globalstar will receive most of the funds. But the iPhone maker did not specify which other players would receive the rest and in what form.

While Apple will pay 95% of approved capital expenditures for the new Globalstar satellites needed to support the service. Globalstar itself says it still needs to increase additional debt to build and deploy satellites.

Globalstar, which makes low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, said it had utilized investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co and expects to complete financing in the fourth quarter of 2022.

LEO satellites operate 36 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites and therefore require less time to send and receive information, leading to faster broadband services even in remote areas.

Globalstar shares are trading slightly higher after launch. Their shares have jumped more than 20% in regular trading but turned around to close lower on Wednesday.

The latest iPhone starts at $799 and will be available later this month, Apple said at the "Far Out" event.

The satellite messaging feature will be available via software upgrade on iPhone 14 models, which includes additional hardware to send messages, in November.

The service will be free for two years with the iPhone 14. Apple didn't say what would happen after that period.

The service will begin in the United States and Canada and will roll out to other markets in the coming months, the company said.