The future of emergency satellite devices. Is the Garmin InReach dead?
How the new iPhone feature is a roadmap for the future of backcountry emergency communication.
Please join the discussion below with your thoughts on this topic!
One of the most important technological advances in the outdoor recreation space over the past decade has been the development of portable and affordable satellite communication devices. These devices allow for emergency (and sometimes non-emergency) communications through satellite transmission when a cell signal is not available. Popular consumer models include Garmin’s InReach series, SPOT devices, ACR’s Bivy Stick, and ZOLEO’s satellite communicator which generally cost a few hundred dollars plus a monthly subscription to cover the cost of the satellite transmission service. Without question, these devices have saved many lives and in many cases, have significantly increased the efficiency and effectiveness of an off-grid emergency response.
You don’t need to search very hard to find some harrowing stories of mountain emergencies with positive outcomes thanks to the help of these devices.
Garmin recently released a study looking back at 10,000 SOS activations and remote rescues over the lifetime of the InReach product. Their public-facing data analysis provides some interesting insights to the most common use-cases, locations, volumes, and other key metrics.
SPOT is also happy to showcase their emergency saves on their website which highlight many success stories with their product.
In other instances, these devices have added complexity, inefficiencies, and false alarms to rescue efforts and emergency dispatchers have not been shy about highlighting the various challenges when it comes to coordinating responses that involve these devices and the 3rd-party services that they use.
Something that isn’t widely known about most satellite communication devices is that they typically do not connect you directly to 911 (or the direct emergency services line of a given country). In the case of Garmin InReach and Iridium products, all SOS activations route to the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) - a private relay center that works to coordinate your rescue with the actual local response agencies and authorities. Similarly, FocusPoint International is a private relay service that fields SOS activations from SPOT, BULLITT (the new satellite communication service for Motorola phones), and some other smaller emergency communication products.
In many cases, this process works fairly well and your urgent messages (which may not have otherwise been able to even happen) will get to where they need to go. However, one of the most important variables in these remote emergency scenarios is time. In my own research, officials have reported the IERCC relay adding over an hour to the response timeline. Rescues in remote locations already take a very long time, even within normal cell service. When an emergency isn’t roadside, multiple response agencies are typically involved like search and rescue teams, aerial response agencies, sheriff’s departments, fire departments, and public land managers. The organization and logistics of managing these teams takes time, lots of people power, and the third party relay agency only adds time and redundancy to this equation.
In May, Jed Porter wrote a thorough review of several of the most popular satellite communication devices on the market for GearLab. I would encourage anyone interested in purchasing one of these tools to read his article and thorough analysis on these devices. It is very well written and informative, but I think it missed the mark in one major way. I would like to have seen have more context based around how easily emergency responders are able to use the information provided to them to initiate a rescue or response. As the article points out, all of these major satellite communication devices are going to send a signal that eventually is going to get where it needs to go - local emergency services. The important question is what information gets there, how does it get there, and how quickly does it get there.
“The greatest strength of the new iPhone feature isn’t the speed of satellite connection or the simple user experience, it’s the strategic and efficient delivery of critical information to the right agency.”
Knowing that remote rescues can often be time-sucking logistical nightmares for responders, I think it’s exciting that we live in a time when technology can be used to vastly improve this process and ultimately, improve the outcome for these types of patients. In my experience as a rescuer and in my recent research, i’ve found that rescue outcomes and efficiency are positively correlated with the amount and quality of information about the emergency situation. Right now, all the SatCom options are better than nothing, but the future looks bright for reducing response timelines and patient outcomes in remote rescues. This all starts with the quick delivery of relevant information.
In addition to specialized, stand-alone SatCom devices, there is a new, innovative player in town.
Over the last 2 years, I spent time as an advisor, subject matter expert, and UX researcher for Apple through the product launch of their Emergency SOS via satellite feature on iPhone 14. This product is Apple’s one-size-fits-all solution to the off-grid emergency problem, and is the staring point for satellite communication integration into a smartphone. Right now, this feature might not be an adequate replacement for dedicated satellite communication devices in a lot of use-cases, however, Emergency SOS via satellite has several game-changing advantages over every other device on the market, which almost no one is talking about and I think these characteristics represent the future of remote emergency response.
In areas where Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) support text-to-911 (roughly 70% of United States PSAPs), Emergency SOS via satellite will route DIRECTLY to the local 911 center through the United States Text Control Center(the normal system to accurately route emergency text messages) based on the phone’s location.
The phone collects critical data about the emergency up front including high-integrity location with a margin of error, name, battery life, and the user’s answers to a triage questionnaire, which are all sent in the first message to emergency services. Thats all to say that this feat of engineering saves significant amounts of time and usually leads to a faster and safer response during an emergency.
“Not many people have an InReach, everyone has a smartphone” was a memorable quote during my research and speaks simply to the statistical advantage of putting life-saving technology into the hands of many more people. Not to mention that this emergency satellite connection is currently free.
The user interface is seamless. There is no need for a user to activate a certain app or search around the phone. The entrance pathway is simply dialing 911 from the phone that’s probably already in your pocket. If a 911 call fails due to lack of service, iPhone bumps you naturally into the SOS via satellite program and immediately prompts for the initial triage questions.
I think it’s worth noting that Emergency SOS via satellite was not built to be a replacement for dedicated emergency devices, but it has certainly brought the entire space several steps forward. These features represent a huge advantage for both emergency services and for an iPhone user in need. The direct connection to 911 eliminates the intermediary service which can come with challenges like increased response time, inaccurate routing, and information loss or change due to the literal game of “telephone” needed in cases with a 3rd party relay center. In one side-by-side field test in Arches National Park, iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite was activated, delivered the user questionnaire to local dispatch, and a dispatcher relayed the information back to the field ranger via radio in the time it took for 2 back-and-forth messages to be sent over InReach mini. In that amount of time, the local emergency resources had the basic information that they needed to initiate a response, while the local dispatcher could continue to gather information through 2-way satellite text.
The greatest strength of the new iPhone feature isn’t the speed of satellite connection or the simple user experience, it’s the strategic and efficient delivery of critical information to the right agency.
So personally, what does this mean for me?
I’ve owned two versions of Garmin’s InReach and I have also owned an ACR Personal Locator Beacon that I have brought on countless trips, expeditions, and day-to-day mountain travel as reassurance in case of an emergency and for 2-way non-emergency communication. I think these products are well built and are vastly improved compared to the options of just several years ago. Having been the subject of a solo backcountry trauma emergency, I know intimately the feeling of needing to establish human connection and the importance of hope and positivity when there is no one physically there with you.
I currently have an iPhone 14, and for the vast majority of my personal mountain pursuits, the Emergency SOS via satellite feature gives me warm & fuzzy feelings, knowing that if it all goes south, I can be in touch with NH 911 within a couple minutes. In my professional applications, I will still look towards other products that currently allow additional features such as non-emergency text messaging, location tracking, and robust constructions with dedicated battery life. So, the InReach is not dead, but I think it is clear that the tech in this space is in a transition period where very soon, an off-grid, satellite communication feature will be perfectly re-homed to live inside of a smartphone for all personal and professional uses, just like maps, compass, altimeter, and GPS unit have all done in the past 10 years.