This seems more like a feature that should be regulated into existence.<p>Satellite providers that offer coverage to handheld devices should be compelled to, free of charge, relay _emergency_ requests that are in the correct format to the relevant authorities with as much information as possible. On the same note, abuse of that service should be a crime worth going after. Not a 'parent with kids that played with all the buttons' goes to jail level thing, but no one should be going out of their way to activate it either.<p>That way, just like any phone can contact emergency services, even without a plan, so too could they use that part of the new service. A service which might offer data and messaging for NON emergency use as well (that one paid for by the consumer directly).