Thuraya Satphone experienced

Submitted: Monday, May 30, 2016 at 15:01
ThreadID: 132567 Views:3116 Replies:10 FollowUps:7
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Hi
Can any owners of the Thuraya Satphone comment on how good they are please.

I have done searching on the forum and many of the comments come from people who do not own/use them and are a few years old. Not sure if it has changed but would be good to hear owners experiences

Richard


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Reply By: Member - Tony H (touring oz) - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 17:15

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 17:15
Hi Richard,
Yes I do currently have a sat phone/sat sleeve on the Pivotel network. (Thuraya)
For $15 pm I stay connected, calls are roughly $1 per min (cheap).
If you draw a line form the NSW/Vic border across to Perth anywhere above that line I have have great connection/signal strength, the further south you go from that line (depending on terrain & weather) the signal can diminish.
I have an iPhone 6 that I use in conjunction with the sleeve & I love it, especially being able to use the Bluetooth feature up to 30 meters away from the 'sleeve'
Hope this helps.
Insanity doesnt run in my family.... it gallops!

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Reply By: MarkHugh - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 18:13

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 18:13
G'day Richard,

I have a Thuraya on an Optus plan. Doesn't cost my anything when I'm not using it but then $15/month plus call when I take it out bush. Has worked very well except when down the bottom of valleys with the line of sight to the satellite blocked. Then I just walk to a better view point. Mostly I just send texts, usually including my GPS location (which the phone provides for you) so the recipient, using Google Earth or similar, knows precisely where you are. Its not expensive at all.

Cheers,
Mark
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Reply By: Member - Rich - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 18:36

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 18:36
Many thanks for the replies

It does look a viable option, price wise and usage wise

Richard
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Reply By: TomH - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:14

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:14
Until you upgrade your phone then it doesnt fit and you have to buy a different sleeve Whereas with a dedicated satfone it will work for ever (sort of) and possibly cost less for a second hand one
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Follow Up By: Member - Rich - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:22

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:22
Not entirely true
The new sleeve version is a generic one and fits most phones

As mentioned above it works when not connected to the sleeve

There is also a hotspot device.

Richard

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Follow Up By: Member - Tony H (touring oz) - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 21:02

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 21:02
Gday Tom,
Mate if you get a new phone that has Bluetooth, as all phones have now you don't need to update the sleeve ......just use the Bluetooth feature. I consider this one of the great features of the sat sleeve......
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Reply By: Life Member - Fred B (ex-NT) - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:20

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:20
I recently purchased my Thuraya xt-lite from Sat Phone Sales on $15 plan. Very happy with the service, the phone and the calls. You are given an Australian mobile number and anyone calling you pays standard mobile call costs.
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Follow Up By: Baz - The Landy - Wednesday, Jun 01, 2016 at 17:25

Wednesday, Jun 01, 2016 at 17:25
Hi Fred

This is one of the great features of having a standard Australian mobile number, similar to how Pivotel works. It will usually be the case that the major Telco’s like Telstra and Optus allow unlimited calls to Australian mobile numbers from a mobile number, which means it may not cost the person calling you anything to ring you if they call you from a mobile phone number.

Cheers Baz – The Landy
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Reply By: Member - johntoyo - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:20

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 19:20
Richard bought one a couple of months ago for our trip up to Cape Leveque and across the top.

No issues at all. When on the dash have a signal but that diminishes when you pick it up. (Line of sight)

Always had a signal when needed.

John
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Reply By: Member - Rich - Monday, May 30, 2016 at 21:35

Monday, May 30, 2016 at 21:35
Has anyone looked at the hotspot device as well

Not sure it has any additional benefits to the sleeve.

What I like about the sleeve or hotspot over the phone is that you can position it to point in the right direction while you talk on your phone.

Richard
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Reply By: Member - Jim - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 17:41

Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 17:41
Richard

I have a Sat Sleeve Hotspot, and whilst only having to use it a couple of times whilst out of range of normal phone reception on the Eyre Peninsula it worked well.
The good point is that the device itself is left pointing to the satellite and the phone (in my case an iPhone) is connected by bluetooth.
This is useful for those souls who walk about in circles whilst using a phone as the satellite link is fixed.

Also on the $15 p/m + calls on Pivotel.

Doesn't matter when you update your phone, it just has to have the app and a bluetooth connection.

Cheers,
Jim

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Follow Up By: Member - Rich - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 17:49

Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 17:49
Thanks Jim

Based on comments above I think you can do something similar with the sleeve.

Is there any benefit on one over the other


I had a look at that plan and it looks good

From what I can gather when you sign up it costs you $25 as a one off cost.
As it is month by month you can cancel it when you don't need it.
However when you start it up again you have to pay the $25 again, you also get a new number.

Still looks ok I suppose, pity you can't suspend it.

Richard
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Reply By: Member - Jim - Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 18:03

Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 18:03
Richard,

I would still get the Hotspot over the sleeve, as I said you can change your phone from time to time and not have to spend anymore on the sleeve change (if available) to suit.
Just download the app and do the log in stuff.

I leave mine connected all the time at $15 p/m and don't have to pay the $25 connection fee and also keep the same incoming number.
I am not sure whether the number would change following a cancellation and a reconnection but would assume so.

I know the website (Pivotel) is lacking with respect to these questions.

Cheers,
Jim
AnswerID: 600786

Reply By: oetkb - Wednesday, Jun 01, 2016 at 12:59

Wednesday, Jun 01, 2016 at 12:59
Hi Rich,
we were running 3 of them for work for about 5 years and they were a disaster for about the last 3. Apparently you have to update the software every year (Cost about $130) but they forgot to mention that to us. There was also a heap of other issues that I cant remember the details of other than when I desperately needed to use them they wouldn't work. For some reason this would happen around December.
The boss is currently researching some replacements.
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Follow Up By: Member - Rich - Wednesday, Jun 01, 2016 at 13:41

Wednesday, Jun 01, 2016 at 13:41
That does not seem good

I will follow up before making a decision

Thanks for the reply

Rich
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Follow Up By: LAZYLUX16 - Thursday, Jun 02, 2016 at 00:03

Thursday, Jun 02, 2016 at 00:03
Oetkb wondering what model phone.I just purchased seconhand the latest xt lite thuraya I hope it will not have issues as in emergency be ptetty useless thanks
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Follow Up By: oetkb - Friday, Jun 03, 2016 at 17:22

Friday, Jun 03, 2016 at 17:22
Hi Lazy,
I cant remember what model it was but they were acquired about 5 years ago and I can only guess they are now an "older" model.
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