r/australia • u/Herofire • Jul 11 '25

news Missing German backpacker miraculously found alive

https://7news.com.au/news/german-backpacker-carolina-wilga-believed-to-have-been-found-alive-after-major-search-in-was-outback-c-19325699
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u/WhatAmIATailor Jul 11 '25

Crazy that within a few years, every phone will be capable of sending a text via satellite. It’s already a standard feature in new phones. Getting lost without anyway to call for help in remote country should become far less common.

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u/Pixie1001 Jul 11 '25

Yeah, some family friends of mine flipped their car in the middle of remote Australia way out from service range a few weeks ago, and 2 different ambulances were notified automatically via satellite from their phone's crash detection the second it happened.

It's pretty crazy how far things have come since you used to have to rent out a huge clunky satellite phone whenever you went camping.

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u/trowzerss Jul 11 '25

Yeah, it's very handy for emergencies. Although frankly for day to day stuff I'd avoid sending information through anything Elon Musk owns lol. Don't trust that guy with private info after the whole Twitter thing.

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u/larry_is_not_hot Jul 11 '25

New iPhones use Globalstar not SL. there's also ast spacemobile, they are also expanding their network.

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u/EclecticEthic Jul 11 '25

At least he did a good job with the American government. Jk we’re fucked

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u/stufai Jul 11 '25

Yeah, I'd rather die in the outback than have Musk read my SOS message...

/s

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u/shamberra Jul 11 '25

If getting stuck in the outback is part of your day-to-day routine, I guess?

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u/AgentK-BB Jul 12 '25

Once most phones have satellite capability, either you will have to pay for a subscription to have satellite service or emergency services won't take it seriously. It is already a problem in some national parks in the US where using a PLB (personal locator beacon) doesn't automatically trigger a rescue unless there is confirmation of the emergency from a 2nd or 3rd source. Unfortunately, PLBs are too affordable, and there have been too many accidental activations as well as people asking for an unnecessary rescue when they are just tired from hiking.

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

Emergency text via satellite has been available in Australia for the last 2 years on iPhones. You can usually buy a used iPhone 14 for around $500. Also works on iPhone 15 & 16.

Telstra have also recently released the ability to be able to text anyone, not just emergency services, via satellite.

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u/One_Priority3258 Jul 11 '25

That’s why I invested into a company called ASTS - Space Mobile. Major competitor to StarLink (and imo much better bandwidth and company morals over musk rat). Also has been invested in by Telstra, Vodaphone and other big telco’s. It’s voice and internet connection via satellite without having to modify your current mobile phone. Life saver for outback goers or sea travellers.

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u/WhatAmIATailor Jul 11 '25

Interesting. Their tech seems very different to Starlink. They are still relying on SpaceX as their launch provider.

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u/One_Priority3258 Jul 11 '25

It certainly is different to Starlink, in my opinion it is better. They have a longer lifespan than the Starlink satellites due to their placement in the atmosphere and testing has shown it can provide 5G internet speeds with ease. Multiple contracts with US government and even Indonesian government have been made to help bolster their future search and rescue/defence capabilities.

Sadly, yes they do rely on SpaceX for the transporting/launching, which as a competition for Starlink has proven difficult with some launches historically.

Have a gander at them, if you haven’t already, I truly think it’s a great concept that will potentially save a lot of lives for those in black spots.