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| Apple sets a release date for the iPhone 14 satellite communications feature |
Apple announced, Thursday, that it will spend $ 450 million on the American company to enable its new feature that allows users to send emergency messages via satellite.
The US tech giant added that the bulk of the spending will go to Globastar, which operates the satellites needed to enable Apple's new features.
As part of the deal with GlobalStar, Apple will not acquire an ownership stake in the company, but will commit to using the money in equipment and operations. In addition to equipping the earth station with a new antenna of its own design, it will pay for the satellites.
At the event in September, Apple announced emergency calling via satellite as a key feature of its new smartphone, the iPhone 14.
The company says that when users are out of cellular coverage, such as when camping in a remote area, users can still make an emergency call by pointing their phones at the sky and connecting to any of Globalstar's 24 low-earth orbiting satellites.
This feature will be available for iPhones via a software update later this month.
Apple's announcement today shows how much it will cost to run the service, but the service will be free for iPhone users for two years and it's not clear what Apple will require from users after that period.
According to Apple, the service will not be fully automated as the agent will have to be in the call center, and Globalstar centers will have more than 300 agents working in the service.
In today's announcement, Apple also reportedly tried to highlight its spending on US suppliers, noting more than once that many of the components used in its devices come from the US but are then assembled in China.
Apple said its payments to GlobalStar will come from the Advanced Manufacturing Fund, a cash pool the company uses to support US suppliers.
Since establishing the Advanced Manufacturing Fund in 2017, Apple has paid Corning $450 million to make glass for iPhones, Finisar $390 million to build a factory to manufacture laser components needed for Face ID: FaceID, XPO Logistics $100 million, and $10 million to Copan Diagnostics. for Covid-19 testing kits.