The SPOT X two-way satellite communications device is available across Europe and North Africa, reports Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd.
The latest in the SPOT line of products, SPOT X offers two-way SMS and email besides GPS tracking and a one-touch SOS button that sends the user’s GPS location to the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Centre (IERCC) over Globalstar’s satellite network. The IERCC then transmits details to local first responders. Pricing and coverage details are available at FindMeSPOT.eu.
Globalstar says SPOT X is the only satellite messenger on the market to give users a permanent phone number, check-in function and a full, backlit QWERTY keypad for intuitive typing. While the product offers SOS and tracking for adventurers such as hikers, sailors and paragliders, businesses are using the product to protect personnel working in remote or dangerous locations where mobile and radio communications are unreliable.
The SPOT X can integrate with Value Added Resellers’ third party applications for remote workers. SPOT device users include first responders, NGOs such as the Red Cross and Disaster Tech Labs; the UK’s Forestry Commission; and utilities lone and remote workers. Users can send and receive 140-character text messages and short emails with any mobile phone number or email address. A rechargeable Lithium battery averages a battery life of ten days when tracking at ten-minute intervals. The product weighs 198g, and in size is 166mm in length by 74mm wide and 44mm deep. It tracks progress at intervals of two and a half, five, ten, 30, or 60 minutes and shares location on Google Maps.
David Phipps, Managing Director of specialist distributor, Global Telesat Communications said: “Staff welfare, as part of increasingly important employee duty of care initiatives, is high on the agendas of enterprises across many industries. We anticipate that SPOT X’s two-way messaging will be enthusiastically received by businesses who understand the value of communicating with workers in the field, and giving them reliable, highly functional devices to improve safety.
“We believe that many individuals who already rely on SPOT to deliver added safety for their outdoor pursuits and adventures will be keen to take advantage of the new two-way communications options enabled by SPOT X.”
