▲ 97 ▼ Apple extends Emergency SOS via satellite for an additional free year for existing iPhone 14 users (www.apple.com) submitted 2 years ago by LazaroFilm@lemmy.world to c/apple_enthusiast@lemmy.world 40 comments fedilink hide all child comments
[–] ANIMATEK@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (2 children) It sucks because this is one of those things you don’t need them until you really do. Pay as you go model would be ok for me. Emergency? Sure, take a 100€ from my credit card just get me the hell out of here. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 11 points 2 years ago (1 child) What if that number was 10 grand? Higher? That's more in line with what covering the costs with "only pay if you actually have to connect" looks like. Actual forest services offer similar programs in some places, where you pay a small annual fee as "insurance" against being liable for needing to be rescued if you're negligent and need it. Capacity is expensive and use of these types of services is simply not common enough to benefit from economies of scale. You can't make your costs back that way without charging out the ass when it's needed. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] prowess2956@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago (1 child) I can't imagine that Apple pays $10k per-incident to allow their phones to connect to a third party's satellite network. As you point out, rescue services are a different story, but that's independent of whether you contact them via satellite or standard cellular. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago (1 child) They're probably not paying per incident, because that model doesn't work. They're paying per authorized device. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) A dedicated satellite device like inReach is $144/year for unlimited SOS and 10 standard text messages I think you’re overestimating the cost of data permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) Less than "unlimited" isn't meaningfully cheaper to provide. It's $144/year and not thousands per use exactly and exclusively because you can't buy it when you need it. If you could buy it on demand, 99.999% of revenue disappears because there's no reason to pay for a subscription, and you have to massively raise the price per use for the service to break even. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent [–] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world [S] 5 points 2 years ago Yep. I agree. And most people have a card attached to their Apple ID so that may work. permalink fedilink source parent
[–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 11 points 2 years ago (1 child) What if that number was 10 grand? Higher? That's more in line with what covering the costs with "only pay if you actually have to connect" looks like. Actual forest services offer similar programs in some places, where you pay a small annual fee as "insurance" against being liable for needing to be rescued if you're negligent and need it. Capacity is expensive and use of these types of services is simply not common enough to benefit from economies of scale. You can't make your costs back that way without charging out the ass when it's needed. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] prowess2956@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago (1 child) I can't imagine that Apple pays $10k per-incident to allow their phones to connect to a third party's satellite network. As you point out, rescue services are a different story, but that's independent of whether you contact them via satellite or standard cellular. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago (1 child) They're probably not paying per incident, because that model doesn't work. They're paying per authorized device. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) A dedicated satellite device like inReach is $144/year for unlimited SOS and 10 standard text messages I think you’re overestimating the cost of data permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) Less than "unlimited" isn't meaningfully cheaper to provide. It's $144/year and not thousands per use exactly and exclusively because you can't buy it when you need it. If you could buy it on demand, 99.999% of revenue disappears because there's no reason to pay for a subscription, and you have to massively raise the price per use for the service to break even. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] prowess2956@kbin.social 4 points 2 years ago (1 child) I can't imagine that Apple pays $10k per-incident to allow their phones to connect to a third party's satellite network. As you point out, rescue services are a different story, but that's independent of whether you contact them via satellite or standard cellular. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago (1 child) They're probably not paying per incident, because that model doesn't work. They're paying per authorized device. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) A dedicated satellite device like inReach is $144/year for unlimited SOS and 10 standard text messages I think you’re overestimating the cost of data permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) Less than "unlimited" isn't meaningfully cheaper to provide. It's $144/year and not thousands per use exactly and exclusively because you can't buy it when you need it. If you could buy it on demand, 99.999% of revenue disappears because there's no reason to pay for a subscription, and you have to massively raise the price per use for the service to break even. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 6 points 2 years ago (1 child) They're probably not paying per incident, because that model doesn't work. They're paying per authorized device. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) A dedicated satellite device like inReach is $144/year for unlimited SOS and 10 standard text messages I think you’re overestimating the cost of data permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) Less than "unlimited" isn't meaningfully cheaper to provide. It's $144/year and not thousands per use exactly and exclusively because you can't buy it when you need it. If you could buy it on demand, 99.999% of revenue disappears because there's no reason to pay for a subscription, and you have to massively raise the price per use for the service to break even. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) A dedicated satellite device like inReach is $144/year for unlimited SOS and 10 standard text messages I think you’re overestimating the cost of data permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) Less than "unlimited" isn't meaningfully cheaper to provide. It's $144/year and not thousands per use exactly and exclusively because you can't buy it when you need it. If you could buy it on demand, 99.999% of revenue disappears because there's no reason to pay for a subscription, and you have to massively raise the price per use for the service to break even. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago (1 child) Less than "unlimited" isn't meaningfully cheaper to provide. It's $144/year and not thousands per use exactly and exclusively because you can't buy it when you need it. If you could buy it on demand, 99.999% of revenue disappears because there's no reason to pay for a subscription, and you have to massively raise the price per use for the service to break even. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 1 point 2 years ago (1 child) I can just tell you we’re paying them ~30% of the consumer price per device in a B2B deal, and I suspect Apple can demand a significantly lower rate when almost none of their devices will ever connect permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 1 point 2 years ago It doesn't matter that very few devices connect. That's the only reason they have to volume to be affordable at all. If you took the total cost of having satellite coverage available and divided by the amount of satellite assisted rescues needed per year, the amount that a satellite company would need to charge just to break even would absolutely be thousands. Satellites are expensive. Rescues are rare. The only reason it's able to be something regular people can pay is because there are hundreds or thousands of people who don't ever use it paying into the pot. Without those people, the economics don't work. "Unlimited SOS" isn't any impact to the network at all, because frivolous use gets punished by other people. Apple being able to get you literally any discount at all is already a value add. (And they've completely footed the bill so far). permalink fedilink source parent
[–] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world [S] 5 points 2 years ago Yep. I agree. And most people have a card attached to their Apple ID so that may work. permalink fedilink source parent