Please select your home edition
Edition
Belvedere

SOS two-way communication now on Iridium Extreme satphones

by Nancy Knudsen on 7 Dec 2011
Satphones are great for contacting family, but an Iridium Extreme will now give you an extra level of safety SW
Another level of safety has been added for leisure sailors who have an Iridium Extreme phone. It is a free GEOS emergency response service, meaning that, once you touch the SOS button on your phone, you have two waycommunication with the International Emergency Response Coordination Center all the time the emergency lasts.

Iridium Communications Inc. have announced the important breakthrough this week in the following announcement:

The GEOS emergency response service is now available to Iridium Extreme™ satellite phone customers. At no additional cost to customers, Iridium has integrated the GEOS service into the SOS button on the Iridium Extreme.

Launched in September 2011, the Iridium Extreme is the most advanced, rugged satellite phone in the market and is the first to offer an SOS button. As part of the Iridium ForceSM vision for future personal mobile communications, this GEOS service is an enhancement to the phone’s location-awareness services available at launch.

'The GEOS service is one of the many new innovations we are delivering to partners,' said Joel Thompson, vice president, product management, Iridium. 'Iridium worked with a select group of portal providers who developed location tracking and messaging services for the launch of the Iridium Extreme. Since then, the Iridium Extreme has seen much greater demand from customers than we had anticipated and we wanted to provide them an additional level of protection.

'With the launch of the GEOS Emergency Response service, Iridium Extreme customers now have several options to manage their communications during an emergency situation. Since the SOS button is programmable, customers have the ability to use the GEOS service if their organization does not offer such a service. We wanted to ensure that anyone using the most rugged satellite phone on the planet had an option to reach a highly trained professional in an emergency situation.'

'This first-ever, integrated satellite phone emergency service sets the standard for providing ultimate peace of mind to cruising sailors. A quick press of the SOS button automatically dials the GEOS emergency response center, providing a connection to a live support representative. Where the market used to settle for just one-way SOS alerting, customers now can maintain contact with the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) during their emergency for reassurance that help is on the way. The GEOS service adds an important partner into the community supporting the Iridium Force vision. GEOS also adds a layer of performance to the dependable, reliable Iridium Extreme platform.

GEOS receives emergency alerts and notifies Response Search and Rescue (SAR) authorities via a global, 24/7/365 service through its IERCC in Houston, Texas. The IERCC has translation capabilities for up to 200 languages. It has coordinated thousands of responses in more than 100 countries since 2007.

'The GEOS IERCC has really raised the bar with respect to emergency response centers in terms of professionalism and reach,' said Mark Garver, CEO of the IERCC. 'We staff it with qualified first responders, such as firefighters, paramedics, former military personnel and law enforcement professionals. These personnel have handled emergencies first hand. That is why we can truly stand by our motto, ‘So Others May Live To Tell About it’.'

Iridium Extreme customers must register at www.geosalliance.com/iridium to initiate this emergency response service. Through the service, customers can verbally provide crisis details to SAR professionals, as well as send location data for response coordination with local public authorities. The Iridium Extreme SOS button functionality meets international standards for satellite emergency notification devices (SENDs).

Although the GEOS service is included as an offering for Iridium Extreme customers who register, the programmable SOS button also can be set to instead call or message an alternate number. For instance, some corporations or organizations may prefer to have emergency calls routed to their internal response center or another SAR provider.

There are no additional charges to access the basic GEOS service. Purchase of an Iridium Extreme phone and a valid subscription is required. Standard usage charges apply for the emergency phone call, or for SMS or location messages sent. Customers also can opt for enhanced, paid SAR or medevac subscriptions through GEOS.

The Iridium Extreme phone delivers global voice and data connectivity through the world’s furthest reaching network. It is available through an ecosystem of distribution partners found at www.iridium.com.

About Iridium Communications Inc.
As experienced by comparing notes between cruising sailors when crossing oceans, Iridium is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ever-expanding ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. The company has a major development program underway for its next-generation network – Iridium NEXT. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A. For more information about Iridium products, services and partner solutions, visit www.iridium.com.

About GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center:
The GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) was founded in November 2007 with the culmination of various 24/7 monitoring centers that individually focused on travel safety, security services and monitoring for clients. Staffed, equipped and prepared to respond worldwide with the push of a button, an automatic emergency alert or a simple phone call, the mission of the GEOS IERCC is to aid in the rescue of all savable lives whether at land, air or sea. The center receives the alert and notifies the appropriate authorities to execute the SAR mission and maintains a liaison with the family, first responders, and in some instances, a user’s embassy, keeping all parties up to date with new position information, updated medical information and any other pertinent data until the mission or call is resolved.
................

Did you like this article? If you are not a Sail-World subscriber already, did you know that you can keep up with all the news from the world of the cruising sailor with a weekly news hit? It's totally free, as all our income is from the advertisers.

Once you subscribe, all the non-racing news comes to you in one easy to read news magazine, right to your inbox. AND it's up to date, so you don't have to wait for the end of the month to find out what's going on. You can even subscribe a friend. http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/international/newsletter_subscribe.cfm!Click_here_now!

North Sails Loft 57 PodcastMySail 2025Switch One Design

Related Articles

The Ocean's Logbook amplifies global voices
A digital survey that looks beyond cold statistics to capture real stories A powerful new campaign designed to capture the world's emotional connection to the ocean is being launched today ahead of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France in June.
Posted on 27 May
SP80 kiteboat reaches a top speed of over 58 knots
100 km/h barrier is smashed in Leucate The SP80 kiteboat has reached a top speed of over 58 knots, or 108 km/h. This new personal best makes SP80 the second fastest sailboat ever recorded, behind Vestas Sailrocket II and its 68.01-knot top speed.
Posted on 27 May
Italian SailGP Team acquired by investors
The consortium includes Hollywood royalty, Anne Hathaway SailGP has today announced that the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, has officially been acquired by a consortium of accomplished investors and sports industry leaders, including Hollywood royalty, Anne Hathaway.
Posted on 27 May
Armstrong Foils: On tour - Home of Armstrong II
Join America's Cup champion, Blair Tuke and Armstrong team riders on the tour of NZ's Far North Join three times America's Cup champion, Blair Tuke and Armstrong team riders Olivia Jenkins, Naumi Eychenne, Bowien van der Linden, Cash Berzolla, and Reo Stevens, on the Home of Armstrong Tour II, as they explore NZ's Far North.
Posted on 27 May
America's Cup entries open on Sunday
A Cup in turmoil - has Grant Dalton dodged a bullet with the new Cup organisation? America's Cup gets underway in Rome with Round 2 of the official welcoming ceremonies on Wednesday in Naples. Emirates Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton apprears to have dodged a bullet with the formation of of new AC organising body.
Posted on 26 May
Italian PM welcomes America's Cup in Rome
Prime Minister Meloni set out a bold vision for the regeneration planned around AC38 The magnificent setting of the Casino del Bel Respiro, commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1644, in the grounds of Villa Pamphilj, was the outstanding and historic setting for the formal presentation of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup.
Posted on 26 May
Kai Marks Dasent completes 38.1nm fundraising sail
Raising Funds for Union Island Secondary School and Vincy Sailing On Saturday, May 24th, 14-year-old sailor Kai Marks Dasent completed an impressive solo sail from his home St. Vincent to Union Island, covering 38.1 nautical miles in 6 hours and 3 minutes, with an average speed of 6.3 knots.
Posted on 26 May
Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta preview
Sørvind to debut at this edition, in Sardinia The Mediterranean superyacht racing season will kick off on 27th May with the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta, organised annually by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 2008 and supported by title sponsor Giorgio Armani since 2022.
Posted on 26 May
J/105 NE*NE blitzes Elite Keel Regatta
Tim Russell's super hot and quick NE*NE team rolled to a fairly easy win The San Francisco YC hosted its annual springtime favorite event, the Elite Keel Regatta- for a huge fleet of twenty-six J/105s.
Posted on 25 May
Edlu Distance Race at Larchmont Yacht Club
One of the "must-do" events on western Long Island Sound Last weekend, Larchmont Yacht Club held its EDLU Distance Race, the first of the major offshore races that take place on Long Island Sound all summer long.
Posted on 25 May