Thuraya Sat Phones - experiences ?

Submitted: Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 19:59

ThreadID: 83083 Views:5142 Replies:5 FollowUps:12

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Handheld Satellite Phone Solutions for Travellers

The aim of this article is to provide a simple overview of the current satphone environment in Australia - assisting recreational, outback travellers make informed decisions when considering the

howesy

Has anyone used the Thuraya sat phones and if so how was coverage and how did the costs compare with other types. were they expensive to run.
Thanks.

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Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 20:56

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 20:56

Read thread 83035 and do a forum search on"Satellite phones"

Will keep you reading for a week.

Indigo sell them so a read of their site may be helpful

Most on here use Iridium phones for the best coverage.

AnswerID: 438995

Follow Up By: howesy - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 21:20

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 21:20

I have already done searches and found nothing of value and the post you suggest also provides no useful information for my enquiry.
From the research I have done so far it would seem that Thuraya use their own satellites and you subscribe to them and buy credit to use their system. If this is right then it is a different kettle of fish and I would need to hear from someone who has used their system and find out how they compare cost wise for usage and also for coverage and performance.
Cheers.

FollowupID: 710812

Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 21:29

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 21:29

If you ring Indigo they will tell you the prices Thats why I put the link up.
As I said most on here use Iridium and I dont think Ive seen any one that does use Thuraya

Indigo are new and supposedly cheap.

The only thing with Thuraya is the satellite is over Singapore( as told by Indigo) apparently and so will give lesser reliable coverage the further south and west you go. You can also buy credit for Iridium.

Some idea of your usage requirements and locality usage will perhaps draw more answers.

I only had mine for emergencies as it was rather expensive to use for everyday usage..

The more info you provide will help get the correct answers.

FollowupID: 710813

Follow Up By: howesy - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 21:55

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 21:55

Now you are going to have to pardon my ignorance but I guess if I knew what I was talking about here I wouldnt have posted in the first place (lol)
From what I gathered from where you point me the iridium is linked to Telstra which has no partnership arrangement with Thuraya.
The Thuraya phone uses their own satellites and is a regional rather than a global provider. I found from more research that their australian partner is Optus and they gave me all the costs involved for the services but I still need first hand experiences from those that have used this system in Australia as far as its effectiveness and limitations. Being completely different to the iridium in that it utilises a seperate sat network I would like to hear from anyone that has travelled extensively throughout australia with one of these.
Thanks.

FollowupID: 710818

Follow Up By: 3GoBush - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:08

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:08

Pivotel have an Iridium net work as well, I have used mine extensively across Australia without a problem, you will get some answers here about Pivotel / Globalstar please ignore them as they are talking about the old useless system they used to have.

I have used the Pivotel Iridium net work now for a few years and I am happy to endorse there product, I live in Arnhemland and have travelled extensively so I need to have a proper set up.

FollowupID: 710821

Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:10

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:10

If you read my followup correctly I said to ring Indigo who are selling Thuraya phones and are possibly cheaper than Optus.

They are in two configurations. One is a straight Satfone and one is a GSM /Satfone.
Dont hold your breath trying to get an Optus cellular signal away from the east coast and major towns.

I have actually spoken to Indigo and thats where the info I posted comes

from and the coverage comes from them as well.

I did say about the satellite as told to me by Indigo and its restriction in the south.

As I said an indication of where you intend using it will help get more
informative answers if anyone on here has one.

FollowupID: 710822

Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:13

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:13

The OP obviously wants Thuraya comments only.

At least Iridium works reliably all over the country with its 72 worldwide network of satellites.

FollowupID: 710823

Follow Up By: howesy - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:22

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 22:22

Will ring them as you suggested, I just assumed by their website that they only offer the one model which is stand alone satellite.
I was looking to dual GSM/SAT model and have since found cost through Optus.
If Iridium can offer a card to connect to their sats and also use GSM then that will be great.
Down toward the south is pretty broad but thankfully most of my trips are either far north or central australia areas.
Thanks for all the help.

FollowupID: 710824

Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 09:52

Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 09:52

Iridium are SATELLITE ONLY and you can buy prepay cards for them

If you are travelling in the centre or the north Optus is definitely NOT the best option.

THE ONLY option in the outback is TELSTRA as far as cellular coverage is concerned

If you read the threads on satfones you will see there are several different ways of using Iridium phones.

If you "assume" as Benny Hill used to say you make an ass out of u and me

LOL

The Indigo website is not too informative but had you gone to the product tab you would have got more info.

Something must be right with Iridium as most on here use them in preference to any other type.

FollowupID: 710860

Reply By: Motherhen - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 23:16

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 23:16

In fairness to howesy and to those who have responded with their experiences and advice (although not necessarily on Thuraya), i recall threads here where people reported a reduced coverage; certainly worht checking these out. Looking at recent threads, the following has a reply (see final reply) on Thuraya coverage.

Sat Phone Thread

For my purposes, i will stick with Iridium network as we carry a satellite phone for emergencies, when we would need it to work where ever we were. Cost doesn't come into it when a life is at stake. It has also saved up the cost of hundreds of kilometres of travel following a breakage in a remote area. More than that, it has given us and our family peace of mind knowing that we can contact each other in a time of need. Even knowing we had it helped stop the panic enough for us to solve our own break down on an early occasion - in another remote area - without having to make a single phone call.

Motherhen

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AnswerID: 439007

Reply By: Member - Marc Luther B (WA) - Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 23:25

Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010 at 23:25

Hi Howesy

I have a Thuraya 2520, through Activ8, but my coverage is because I am extremely remote. There is no buying credit, it is on a monthly or quarterly plan as far as I know, which is what I do, pay monthly.

I have no problems with coverage, but I do not venture out of the Kimberleys or NT. I therefore cannot say what the coverage is like in other states. I can say that I do not have any trouble, day or night, raingy or sunny, getting a signal from the satellite.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheers

Why travel overseas, you could travel Australia your entire life, and not see it all.

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AnswerID: 439009

Follow Up By: howesy - Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 00:10

Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 00:10

cheers for that.

FollowupID: 710832

Follow Up By: Ozrover - Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 09:31

Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 09:31

Hi Guys,

I also have a Thuraya but a 2510 sat only, no problems so far & the service is cheap compared to the other systems.

I'm in the same boat as Marc, I live & work in remote locations, I have been told that the further south-east that you go that there can be problems with coverage, but for me that isn't an issue.

A tour operator that we have a close relationship with has a Thuraya sat/mobile combination & has had a lot of trouble with it, but I suspect the problems were caused by poor installation of his hands free kit.

I also have the omni-directional external aerial & this makes for fast connection every time, but I just plug it into the back of the phone & use it as normal, I didn't bother with the hands free kit.

I got mine through activ8me with the remote subsidy scheme.

Hope this helps.

FollowupID: 710856

Follow Up By: Member - Marc Luther B (WA) - Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 17:18

Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 17:18

Hi again Howesy

Just to clarify for you, the 2520 that I have is a slightly larger sat phone, which has sat phone, GPS, Internet and GSM, whereas the 2510 is a more compact phone, which I do not believe accesses GSM.

I could be wrong though.

Hey Ozrover, you really need to watch less of the Highlander series, with that signature.

Cheers

Why travel overseas, you could travel Australia your entire life, and not see it all.

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FollowupID: 710903

Follow Up By: Ozrover - Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 20:35

Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 20:35

Hi again guys,

Mine is the 2510, with GPS, no GSM, but works well.

Marc, I even called my young bloke Connor!! (I'm also a fan of Niel Young).

FollowupID: 710930

Reply By: TH - Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 15:21

Thursday, Dec 16, 2010 at 15:21

I have one. It's worked every time I have wanted it to. It operates off 1 sat over indonesia. You have to make sure the antenna is pointed to the NW. If you are down a gorge or access to NW is impeded then you wont get access to the sat.
Never been a problem in practice.
I am on a plan through AST of about $300/yr with $10/month free calls.
The call charges are $0.90 per 30secs ie $1.80/minute.
It's very compact.

AnswerID: 439059