Patent ID: 8098190

Claim:
A method for communicating information using an emergency locator beacon, the method comprising: (a) receiving beacon registration information via a communication network, the beacon registration information including a beacon identification number associated with the emergency locator beacon and contact information associated with an entity designated to receive beacon information; (b) storing the beacon registration information in a database; (c) receiving a radio-frequency transmission from an emergency locator beacon via a satellite network, the radio-frequency transmission including a beacon identification number; (d) extracting the beacon identification number from the radio-frequency transmission; (e) searching the database to find beacon registration information associated with the beacon identification number extracted from the radio-frequency transmission; (f) generating a report message for the entity designated to receive beacon information identified by the contact information included in the beacon registration information found in step (e), the report message including beacon information obtained from the radio-frequency transmission; and (g) communicating the report message via a communication network to the entity designated to receive beacon information.