Member - Mike DID replied:

Chris

Quite a bit of info was posted here in March in Thread 31762 about Nera satphones.

This is one case where a keyword search did not come up with so many results it was unusable.

Michael Carey replied:

Inmarsat is a very reliable network. There are several resellers of Inmarsat in Australia.
I deal with ASTA through my work with marine electronics.
ASTA
I don't think it is as cheap to use as Iridium, but there are a couple of "plans" you can use with a Mini-M phone, one with a monthly subscription (with included free calls) and one that is pay-as-you-use.
Give the guys at ASTA a call. They should also be able to help you with a new battery in case yours is dead.

fatz replied:

Not sure if this will work for what you have but....
I have a motorolla 9000. All i have is a standard telstra sim with Global roaming turned on, the one that I use every day (no cost, basically what you use when you travel overseas)
I simply put this in the sat phone when i need it and it locks on to Iridum. works fine for me.

Hope this helps.

Member - Mike DID replied:

There are two types of SIM card you can put in a Motorola 9500/9505 satphone - about the only thing in common is that they both use the 66 Iridium Satellites.

1. Telstra GSM Mobile SIM card enabled for International roaming - it's like having your mobile phone operating ANYWHERE in Australia. Only works when you are IN Australia. People still dial your normal "04 . . . . " mobile number. There is NO additional setup or monthly charge. Call charges are higher - $2.70 per minute for outgoing and INCOMING calls. SMS send costs about a $1, you don't pay to receive it.

2. Iridium SIM card. Contract and monthly charges apply. It is allocated with a Satphone number so people need to make an International call to call you and they pay International charges, even if you are in Australia. You can use this anywhere in the world.

3. With NO SIM card in an Iridium phone in Australia, you can still call Australian 000 operators by dialling 112.

Footloose replied:

The Nera World Phone has been discontinued. I had one that I was going to use but it developed a problem so I scrapped it.
If anyone needs bits .......

GoneTroppo Member (FNQ) replied:

Thanks everyone for your advice

For what it's worth I always found Inmarsat totally reliable. This was at the time on Iridium Mark 1 which always seemed to have problems.