>It's really amazing that we live in a world where we can have such infrastructure, but at the same time, it's owned and controlled by a single corporation.

I get this sentiment. Globalstar does have competitors at least. Iridium and Inmarsat offer comparable services though not as seamlessly integrated into a popular consumer device.

I do wonder what happens if you aren't paying for the service but have an emergency. I guess they just don't connect you at all? Is there an automatic charge for accessing it?