Doug,
Any chance that the SPoT system will encourage the PLB industry to also have a non-emergency mode? Call it a system check mode, where it sends a signal which is automatically turned around in an email format to a designated email address -- no manual handling at all. The GPS version would incorporate any available GPS loc data into the email.

Just a thought. I like the non-emergency modes of SPoT, not too thrilled with subscription requirements in an emergency/survival tool.