Following the news that Apple is launching an Emergency SOS via satellite service in the US and Canada for its new iPhone 14 models;

Tammy Parker, Principal Analyst at GlobalData, offers her view:

“The smartphone race to space is on, but it’s unclear how competition in this new service segment will shake out among potential winners and losers. There is an influx of actual and proposed satellite-to-cellular messaging services, which have obviously been in development but are now being deemed ripe for market. How these various services will play together remains to be seen, and there could be friction between the offerings pushed by device manufacturers and those from cellular operators.

“The Apple-Globalstar service will be limited to users of new iOS devices who need to communicate with first responders. Meanwhile, T-Mobile US and SpaceX say their forthcoming text messaging service will support most phones already on the T-Mobile network as well as those to come—meaning both Android phones and iPhones will be able to access the service. However, which service will a T-Mobile subscriber with an iPhone who is stranded in the desert or on a mountaintop use to reach out for assistance? The strength of the backing satellite networks and how well they interface with user devices will have considerable influence on which services are actually deemed useful by the public.

“Additionally, efforts to monetize these services will impact which customers actually use them. Apple’s service will be free for the first two years, but no pricing guidance was offered beyond that. T-Mobile has indicated it will include its satellite-based emergency service at no extra charge in its higher-tier plans. One way or another, customers will find themselves paying for these new features.

“New market entrants will further muddy the competitive waters. Huawei this week unveiled its Mate 50 smartphone, which provides satellite-based messaging and location routing via China’s BeiDou satellite system. Google is working to enable direct satellite connections for upcoming Android phones. US-based Lynk and AST SpaceMobile are partnering with various cellular operators to offer space-based communications services direct to phones. Meanwhile, OneWeb has partnered with AT&T to provide the carrier with satellite-based backhaul services, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper has a similar agreement with Verizon.

“This ongoing integration of satellite-based coverage for cellular networks and devices is taking us into a brave new world of always-on connectivity, whose impact will have broad repercussions across the competitive landscape.”