Starlink, from Elon Musk, now has permission to launch satellites with direct to cellphone communications . . . although that is not actually commercial available.
Iridium (Garmin, Zoleo, BivyStick) and GlobalStar (SPOT and Apple iPhone 14/15/etc) are the main services (devices) really are the first, and still the best options for satellite communicators. Depending on the device you can call out an S.O.S. for the local Search & Rescue crew to find you, or you can use your device as a fancy text messaging system that bypasses cellular and bounces straight to a satellite.
This video does a nice job of explaining the history of these devices, the capabilities (in non-tech terms) and gives a good prelude to Musk's Starlink. Iridium & GlobalStar both came back from bankruptcy and GlobalStar is now expanding. Apple has dumped a pile of cash into Globalstar and is now built into all iPhones after the iPhone 14 for SOS features. Iridium is the full global, robust network, but consumer packages are more expensive per feature. Globalstar now has 85% of its devices being Apple devices and is upgrading its satellites, which should help SPOT (owned by Globalstar).
And incoming is the Starlink, yet to be determined on platforms and features, but the future looks bright for Sat-Com devices.
Iridium (Garmin, Zoleo, BivyStick) and GlobalStar (SPOT and Apple iPhone 14/15/etc) are the main services (devices) really are the first, and still the best options for satellite communicators. Depending on the device you can call out an S.O.S. for the local Search & Rescue crew to find you, or you can use your device as a fancy text messaging system that bypasses cellular and bounces straight to a satellite.
This video does a nice job of explaining the history of these devices, the capabilities (in non-tech terms) and gives a good prelude to Musk's Starlink. Iridium & GlobalStar both came back from bankruptcy and GlobalStar is now expanding. Apple has dumped a pile of cash into Globalstar and is now built into all iPhones after the iPhone 14 for SOS features. Iridium is the full global, robust network, but consumer packages are more expensive per feature. Globalstar now has 85% of its devices being Apple devices and is upgrading its satellites, which should help SPOT (owned by Globalstar).
And incoming is the Starlink, yet to be determined on platforms and features, but the future looks bright for Sat-Com devices.