Back in June we did a northern Simpson trip for three weeks, we were due to meet others in the desert, one couple we were meeting early had a Inmarsat Isatphone Pro.
We had to get incontact with them on two occasions via their sat phone, we were in mobile phone range so we used the mobile phone.
Yesterday we got our first monthly bill from Telstra since being back, we are on a corporate business plan so we have a very constant phone bills.
When the bill got opened it was noticed the cost was about $70.00 above norm..... had a look at the bill and found two sat phone calls we made, one for about $58.00 and another for $11.00.
The one for $58.00 was for just over two minutes and the $11.00 one was for just over 30 seconds.
We quired Telstra and stated we wanted to know who was profiteering..... strat away the costs got credited.
Our two argument to Telstra was; the people who work for us can call our Iridium phone thats with Pivotel for the cost of a standard mobile call and this cost comes of our monthly allowance or it's free during business hours...... why is it so expensive to phone a satellite phone.
The second argument was if we phoned our friends using our Iridium phone to their Inmarsat Isatphone service we would be paying around $2.70 a minute compared to $19.99 a minute from a Telstra mobile or landline....... plus connection fee.
We got an answer back.... and it seems our friends like many others have the highest call cost per minute of any sat phone.
"* Inmarsat was the world's first global mobile satellite communications service offering satellite communications
services to maritime, land-mobile, aeronautical and other users.Formed as a maritime-focused inter-governmental organisation over 20 years ago Inmarsat now supports links for phone, fax and data communications at up to 64kbit/s to more than 210,000 portable terminals on ships, vehicles and aircraft. Inmarsat operates a constellation of geostationary satellites designed to extend phone, fax and data communications all over the world and these satellites are controlled from Inmarsat's headquarters in London.Inmarsat users include ship owners and managers, journalists and broadcasters, health and disaster-relief workers, land transport fleet operators, airlines, airline passengers and air traffic controllers, government workers, national emergency and civil defence agencies, and peacekeeping forces.
* Access to the Inmarsat Satellite Network is provided by "Xantic" which is a joint venture between KPN of the Netherlands and Telstra. The Satellite Network provides satellite coverage via two land earth stations to over 98% of the planet's surface.
What are Inmarsat calls?
* From a customer perspective, Inmarsat calls are calls made from a fixed Telstra residential or business phone to a person or business with an Inmarsat (satellite) terminal.
What are the Features and Benefits?
The main reason people use satellite communications is so they can be reached in remote locations where there are no other means of communication
Who is this for?
Picture the customer Customer who may benefit most
Customers who make voice/fax/data calls from a Telstra fixed phone to Inmarsat terminals are customers who wish to contact friends, family or businesses who only have access to a telephone service via an Inmarsat Satellite terminal.
Typical users of Inmarsat terminals are in remote locations and include the mining, oil, shipping and fishing industries, the military, cruise ships and 4WD enthusiasts.
Pricing
* The cost of a call from a Telstra fixed and mobile phone to an Inmarsat terminal depends on the type of satellite terminal the customer is calling. The Inmarsat terminals which customers may be calling, range from Inmarsat mini-m which is roughly the size of a laptop computer, to Inmarsat-A which is quite large and fixed - normally to a ship.
* For pricing of calls to Inmarsat
services refer to the table below or use Soroban.
* When using Soroban the Inmarsat destinations are listed in the Country drop down box, beginning with INM-GAN ISDN (0011 +87) through to INMARSAT-M (0018 +87). Although 0018 access is listed, Soroban will not provide a cost, as calls to Inmarsat destinations are not possible using 0018. Soroban will display an error message when you choose a destination beginning with 0011 or 0015 - simply click OK to display the call cost.
Pricing for calls to Inmarsat
services
Cost per minute. Calls are charged in blocks of 30 seconds or part thereof.
GST incl
Calls to Inmarsat Aero numbers beginning with 8705
$10.99/minute
Calls to Inmarsat B numbers beginning with 8703
$5.99/minute
Calls to Inmarsat B HSD numbers beginning with 87039
$19.99/minute
Calls to Inmarsat BGAN numbers beginning with 87077 and 87078
$19.99 per minute
Calls to Inmarsat M numbers beginning with 8706
$3.99/minute
Calls to Inmarsat Mini M numbers beginning with 87076
$3.49/minute
Calls to Inmarsat GAN ISDN numbers beginning with 87060
$14.99/minute
"
So be very careful who you phone and what sat service they use or you might be in for a shock.
The cost to people dialing a satellite phone was the main reason we went with Pivotel, outgoing call costs are good but it's the ability for our staff, family and friend to call us on our sat phone and not get a rude shock when they get their phone bill.
My biggest gripe is why can on carrier charge an arm and a leg and another charge so little...... someone is make a good profit.