A Local Company Develops An Apple App
Globalstar is one of the catalyst of an Apple App that will call for help even with no cell service. Globalstar is based in Covington and will serve as the satellite operator for the app. This new emergency SOS service is part of the effort the company has been pushing to get tech or telecom firms to tap into the network. 
The service will allow iPhone 14 users to connect with emergency responders even when they are out of range of a cell tower. The app will also let users send messages over satellites from rural or remote areas. The service is free and will begin in November 2022 for iPhone 14 users in America and Canada.
Apple has been working with Globalstar for years on this app. Componites to make the service work were built into the new iPhone 14. “This really is the holy grail for Globalstar,” Peter Ricchiuti, a finance professor at Tulane University who tracks regional stocks across the South, said in an email.
Apple pays 95% of the costs that Globalstar incurs so that new satallites can be built into the network. Goldman Sach is working with Globalstar to raise the capital to cover the rest. The total project will cost Apple $450 million on satellite infrastructure to support the app.
“The Apple deal show the rest of that world just how valuable their technology and these assets are worth,” Ricchiuti said.
