I recently was in a situation where I needed to use my PLB and the uncertainty around Bullitt (aka "RCD 2023") caused a great deal of trouble.
In July 2024, after the dust seemed to have settled about the Motorola Defy and Bullitt (backstory here) I got the Defy and a year's worth of service for under $150. Cheap insurance I thought! Except, due to what Bullitt did I couldn't really trust it.
Everything was OK until January 13, 2025 when I got an email from Bullitt telling me I needed to sign in and update my credit card or my service would be cancelled. I'd paid for a year's worth of service five months previously so the last thing I was going to do was give them new payment info. I considered their increased prices a form of bait and switch and I planned to switch to a different service before July 2025.
Bullitt sent another demand for a new credit card in February and this was a dire warning:
"As per our email on 13th January, we need you to take action to avoid cancellation of your Bullitt Satellite Messenger and SOS service. We require you to log into your Bullitt Satellite Messenger Account and select a new plan no later than Friday 28th February. Failure to do so will result in immediate loss of service."
The F???
That email was followed by another one just a few hours later:
"You might have received an email from us on 26 February 2025 regarding new plans. Sincere apologies for the miscommunication in that email - your service will continue until the end of your current subscription"
However, by that time it was too late: I can't trust Bullitt and I urge you in no uncertain terms not to give them your business.
A PLB can mean the difference between life or death, and the last thing anyone should want is a company that acts like Bullitt did. They already had serious business difficulties and that should be permanent: they deserve to go out of business.
Further, after having had to actually use a PLB, I strongly urge you to invest in a real satellite communicator if you can. I mean an all-in-one, 2 way unit with its own keyboard. Something that can transmit a text description of the problem (without requiring a cell phone) and receive messages back. Because otherwise there will be doubt in your mind whether it worked or not. Plus, SAR can talk to you about the situation and so on. If there's any way you can afford a real communicator and the associated service - not some Mickey Mouse PLB - do so. It's worth the peace of mind.
Not only that, the Defy itself has a huge UX problem. There's an LED that has a satellite icon next to it. After I'd pressed the big red help button, that LED was slowly flashing red and I didn't know how to interpret that. Does the red - same color as the call button - signify it has transmitted a satellite signal? Or, does red mean that it couldn't transmit the signal?
While I now know that the Defy did transmit the signal and SAR was contacted, if you do anything where your life could be on the line, get a real communicator and a service that doesn't send out "miscommunications".