All about Apple iPhone 14 satellite connectivity in India

Before Apple officially announced the iPhone 14, one leaked feature sparked multiple heated discussions in India. The feature was satellite connectivity, and the fear that was expressed was that it might never see the light of day in India. The fear was not unfounded. According to Department of Telecommunications guidelines, multiple layers of permissions and approvals were required for service to be allowed for a single person. With a massive product like the iPhone 14, it would have been almost impossible to meet all the compliance metrics. But this was the opinion before the launch of the iPhone 14. The answer to that query will surprise and amaze you.

After a better understanding of the feature, it seems that it won't be that difficult for Apple to expand this feature to India after all. The reason behind the change of heart was how Apple introduced this feature. During the Far Out event, Apple called it an "emergency feature" that allows users to send a text message to emergency services or contacts if there's no mobile network nearby. The wording is interesting because it clarifies two things. First, Apple sees it as an emergency feature; second, it will be limited to text messages only. And this changes things.

The satellite connectivity of the iPhone 14 could reach India

"What Apple has introduced is an alert or messaging service, and not mobile voice service. The kind of antenna these phones (commercial) have (small) does not support voice services over satellite which is 600 kilometres away," Shivaji Chatterjee, SVP and Business Head of the Enterprise Business Unit at Hughes Communications India, told The Hindu. Hughes is a US-based satellite internet service provider. The company operates in India and yesterday launched India's first commercial satellite broadband service in collaboration with ISRO.

The use case becomes very small by removing the ability to use this service for phone calls or recreational activities. It thus could be approved by the Indian government in its current form. Speaking to The Hindu, Suneel Kumar Niraniyan, DDG (Satellite), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), agreed. He said, "We already have satellite connectivity technology available in India. If Apple comes up for clearance on this, then we are ready, but they have to tie up with a satellite operator".

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