Garmin Acquires the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center

[John “Jay” Menna]

This just hit the in box:

We are pleased to announce that the GEOS IERCC has joined the Garmin family. The asset acquisition includes the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC) and GEOS membership benefits.

Garmin is committed to ensuring the IERCC continues its superior service as an industry-leading provider of emergency monitoring and response services. Together, we are dedicated to continuing to ensure that adventurers and travelers all over the world have access to 24/7 emergency assistance when they need it.

You can read more about the acquisition here.

What is GEOS and the IERCC?
GEOS has been the leading global provider of safety and response solutions for over ten years. GEOS has also been home to the IERCC, a 24/7 monitoring center that has organized more than 11,000 emergency responses in 195 countries and territories since 2007, including all inReach® SOS incidents. The IERCC will continue its critical work under the Garmin brand.

Will there be any changes to the inReach SOS feature?
No, inReach SOS functionality will remain the same. When you trigger an SOS, the incident will still be handled by the dedicated team at the IERCC.

I have additional GEOS membership benefits. Are there any changes?
Garmin will honor the MEDEVAC and Search and Rescue (SAR) memberships provided by GEOS Travel Safety. You can continue to manage your membership(s) in the same method as you did prior to the acquisition.

Questions?
For more information on inReach devices, SOS and to contact us, visit support.garmin.com.

[Rex Sanders]

Lots of other satellite communicator companies use GEOS IERCC, and now it’s owned by their biggest competitor. Notice the announcement said nothing about any changes to competitors SOS features.

I wonder if the Justice Department might weigh in on anti-trust grounds?

I have a bad feeling about this. These purchases usually don’t benefit customers – quite the contrary.

— Rex

[Roger Caffin]

Shouldn’t something like an ‘International Emergency Response Coordination Center’ be a gov’t-run thing? Or is it just a glam name?

Cheers

[Rex Sanders]

Glam but accurate. GEOS coordinates searches and rescues all over the world, working with local SAR outfits.

PLB/EPIRB/ELT SOS signals are routed through the “International Cospas-Sarsat Programme,” which according to Wikipedia:

is a satellite-aided search and rescue initiative. It is organized as a treaty-based, nonprofit, intergovernmental, humanitarian cooperative of 45 nations and agencies (see infobox). It is dedicated to detecting and locating radio beacons activated by persons, aircraft or vessels in distress, and forwarding this alert information to authorities that can take action for rescue.

I’m guessing that when private SOS communicators came along (technically SENDs that depend almost 100% on GPS locations), Cospas-Sarsat couldn’t let them in without treaty modifications (slow in good decades), and wasn’t set up for two-way communications anyway.

Private vs government is a whole ’nother can of worms. Won’t go there.

— Rex

[Rex Sanders]

Garmin press release does not make me feel warm and fuzzy about GEOS/IERCC for SPOT, YellowBrick, and other satellite communicators.

And when Garmin was hacked last July, GEOS/IERCC kept running, as did SOS messaging for inReach and competitors. Integrating Garmin and GEOS might not be a great idea.

— Rex

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/corporate/garmin-acquires-leading-provider-of-emergency-monitoring-and-response-services/

Garmin acquires leading provider of emergency monitoring and response services
Acquisition includes the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC)

SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland/January 5, 2021/ Business Wire – Garmin® International and Garmin Services, units of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today announced the acquisition of substantially all the assets of GEOS Worldwide Limited and its subsidiaries. A privately held, industry leading provider of emergency monitoring and incident response services, GEOS Worldwide operates the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC), the nerve center for SOS rescue efforts triggered by Garmin’s inReach® personal satellite communicators. The IERCC’s skilled response coordinators have fielded more than 83,000 emergency incidents around the globe since 2007, including more than 5,000 SOS incidents generated by Garmin customers.

“With this acquisition, Garmin is now able to provide even more peace of mind to our inReach users,” said Brad Trenkle, vice president of Garmin’s outdoor segment. “In an emergency, every moment matters. The addition of the IERCC to the Garmin family reinforces our commitment to helping our active lifestyle customers make it home safe from their adventures.”

“GEOS has enjoyed a strong collaboration with Garmin over the years, and we look forward to continuing to work together to continue to provide best-in-class emergency response and safety services for customers around the globe,” said Peter Chlubek, GEOS executive chairman. “GEOS has been a force for good in this world, and I am very proud of our superb staff, who have helped to save over 12,000 lives in the 198 countries where we have provided our global service. This will now continue to grow and be further enhanced thanks to new synergies with Garmin.”

GEOS Worldwide’s primary operations are in Montgomery, Texas. Financial terms of the acquisition will not be released.

 

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