Satellite Emergency Communications

The cluster discusses satellite-based SOS features and devices like Apple's emergency satellite connectivity and Garmin inReach for situations without cell service, such as natural disasters, hiking, or remote emergencies, comparing them to traditional phone alerts and radios.

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Keywords

FF US EMS UV PR SMS AM InReach EAS FM emergency emergencies cell phone alerts sms alert 911 communication satellite

Sample Comments

stock_toaster May 16, 2016 View on HN

Could be useful for emergency alerts in natural disaster situations where cell coverage gets knocked out.

bluefirebrand Dec 12, 2021 View on HN

Isn't this what emergency alerts are for on our phones?

huckfinnaafb Jun 20, 2011 View on HN

Seems like a good way to communicate emergency stuff. Maybe not good. Maybe just available.

ghaff Sep 8, 2022 View on HN

Per a video someone else posted it seems there's communication with (probably just) emergency services which (for some use cases) is probably more useful than just a personal locator beacon.

bell-cot Jan 8, 2024 View on HN

"Situation is an Emergency for you" !== "Best action is to use your phone's Emergency functionality".

kobalsky Sep 30, 2021 View on HN

this isn't something you will use to watch youtube.>>>A 911 call may not be possible yet, but an SOS message containing basic information and coordinates certainly would bethis is an intermittently available emergency service for sites without signal.

nradov Jun 27, 2023 View on HN

In a real emergency the user might be unconscious or otherwise unable to push a button.

ar-jan Jul 22, 2019 View on HN

Yeah, a phone for emergencies is sensible. I mean they don't get to take their smartphone with GPS.

ttamslam May 10, 2023 View on HN

Did you replace it with a “dumb” phone for emergencies?

teeray Nov 15, 2022 View on HN

If you’re looking for emergency comms where cell service is unavailable, you can do really well with a 2m/70cm Baofeng UV-5R. It’ll run you like $60 between the technician’s license (easy to get) and the radio, no subscription. From mountains (no service), I’ve gotten into repeaters 60 miles away. Knowing the community on those frequencies, they’ll treat your emergency with the same respect and decorum as those submitted through the SOS feature (many even train for it through organizations