Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 16:03
Hello Chris
For the past two years I've successfully used my Iridium 9555 with a Telstra SIM card, post paid, activated for global roaming. Callers in Oz simply dial the relevant mobile phone number, their cost is the same as if they were calling anywhere in Oz. My return calls are bit more costly as I'm not on a Telstra satellite plan, which was when I last checked, $30 per month.
I use the Iridium only when travelling to remote areas. If you only go occasionally, you could simply shift the SIM card out of your regular cellphone (assuming it's Telstra), but you may get a lot of traffic that you don't want from your regular number. I chose to buy a separate post-paid SIM, costing $10 per month. This means that when I make a call, it is treated as an overseas call by Telstra, but I minimise costs by sending text messages.
When heading bush I tell family and friends to send a text to the $10 SIM card number. I turn the satphone on every morning while sipping a cup of tea,
check for messages. No messages, no cost. If necessary, I respond to messages with a phone call, which is quicker and easier than fiddling around with a text message.
On one occasion I had some important business in the US and responded to text from that office by phoning. Conversation was about 8 minutes, total bill as I recall, about $25. Very cheap price for the value of the business involved.
When you go to buy the SIM card, Telstra will try to get you to buy a phone to go with it. I told them I needed a separate number - hence a separate SIM - for an old phone.
If they get a whiff of the word Satellite, they'll try hard to talk you out of it or suggest that it won't work or it won't be reliable. But I could see no sense in paying $30 a month for something I use very rarely. Besides, as Telstra reminds me when I do get a bill for Satphone calls - there is an extra charge for the relay via the Optus network.
I'm quite happy to pay that.
Hope this clarifies your decision making.
Cheers
Egalitarian
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