The company says its new Emergency SOS system will help people without cellular or Wi-Fi service connect to a satellite in even the most remote locations
TORONTO — As Canada’s top telecommunications companies face pressure to ensure Canadians can reach emergency responders in the event of a major outage, Apple is rolling out a new service that will accomplish just that.
“Imagine that you are hiking, for instance, and you’re on your own and you fall and break something or you roll your ankle, and the night is coming and you haven’t seen anyone for an hour. You know you need help because you’re not sure you’ll be able to go back to your truck or campsite, so what do you do?"
If they have a clear view of the sky and horizon, the connection is most likely to be made, but trees, hills, mountains, canyons and tall structures can block the signal, Veron said. In the event the signal is blocked, the phone will provide instructions for what direction the user should move in to try to make a connection.
The company was able to reduce the average size of messages to one third of their size, which means it takes about one third of the time to send the message, said Mathias. The launch comes as Canada is grappling with how to best facilitate access to emergency services in the event of telecommunications network outages.
Rogers couldn’t transfer customers to competing carriers, despite offers of assistance from competitors Bell and Telus.
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