iPhone Emergency SOS via Satellite Helped Six Skiers Survive Tahoe Avalanche

From luxury to necessity

Six skiers who survived a deadly avalanche near Lake Tahoe stayed connected to rescuers by using Emergency SOS via satellite on iPhone. The group was on a multi-day backcountry trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains when the avalanche struck. While six people survived, eight died and one remains missing and presumed dead. During the rescue effort, survivors relied on satellite connectivity to communicate with authorities for hours.

According to a report from The New York Times, the survivors used Emergency SOS via satellite to stay in touch with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office while rescue teams worked in difficult terrain. The feature allowed them to send and receive messages even though there was no cellular or Wi Fi coverage in the area.

Don O’Keefe, Chief of Law Enforcement for the California Office of Emergency Services, described how critical that communication was during the operation.

Source: The Mac Observer

NB: The evolution of two-way satellite communication from a costly tool for wealthy to accessible to most is similar to how mobile terrestrial communications also evolved. The difference is in the rate of adoption. Terrestrial is quicker and scales better. The bandwidth to low earth orbit, even with a constellation of satellites will be constrained by network saturation far more. Currently LEO satellites can serve millions but billions will take a lot more