Technology Update: Personal Locater Beacons (PLD) come online in July 2003

http://www.outdoored.com/articles/Article.aspx?ArticleID=157

cell phones, satellite phones, GPS...it goes on and on. There have been lots of discussions in our field about 'technology creep,' the slow (and so far it seems inevitable) extension of technological devices into the backcountry. Well, get ready to welcome one more device into the mix, the Personal Locater Device (PLD). The PLD is the extension of two other devices which have been around for years, the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) for maritime use the the ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitters) for aviation use. All three devices can be used in an emergency to send an emergency beacon signal to a satellite. The satellite relays the signal to a ground station where the call is forwarded on to the appropriate emergency response system.