Patent ID: 8018332

Claim:
An emergency event reporting apparatus for transmitting emergency event messages via satellites associated with a search and rescue system to a ground-based satellite monitoring center of the search and rescue system, the emergency event reporting apparatus comprising: means for detecting an emergency event; means for generating an emergency event message upon detection of the emergency event, where the emergency event message contains information regarding the emergency event; means for storing a unique identification number that uniquely identifies the emergency event reporting apparatus and is associated with one of a plurality of private third-party emergency event monitoring service providers designated to receive and process emergency event messages transmitted from emergency event reporting apparatuses that are relayed through the ground-based satellite monitoring center; and means for transmitting a beacon signal containing the emergency event message and the unique identification number to the satellites associated with the search and rescue system, whereby the ground-based satellite monitoring center can determine, based on the unique identification number contained in the emergency event message, which one of the plurality of private third-party emergency event monitoring service providers is to receive the emergency event message for processing.