TRAVEL THRU NTH AUST

Perhaps you could SHOUT

Hi Don
We travelled around Australia last year and found reception was a hit and miss. Best idea is to ring ahead and ask about reception in the towns you are travelling through.

Regards
Richard

Hi mate

cannot answer your question but with caps lock on its classed as shouting and not very good to read. Lowercase is better.

Goodluck.

Hi
having just dome a trek from Darwin to Perth via Broome and Kimberlys in Dec we found from to Broome there was only a few places we didn't have normal phone reception, it was very surprising... not sure about the Kimberlys though as we never really paid much attention to the phone, but on the road Kununurra, halls creek, Fitzroy,Perry Creek stn road, Wyndham, Derby and in between all the way to Broome had reception.

Don, maybe forget about the market for a few days and enjoy your journey more?

Hmmmm
SHOUTING
It's the Kimberly. Singular, plural and all others.

How unfortunate for yr wife. Not a real holiday I guess however. ..

Satellite phone will be 100% Telstra 3/4G fair bit of coverage but not all.

Are you sure you want to do this sort of trip with yr dependence of telecommunications every minute of the day?

G'Day Don - I live here (The Kimberley and work there a lot NT)
Mobile coverage - Telstra (don't waste your time with anyone else) - Best coverage (towns of course) and 65% of the Gt Northern Hwy (growing every year)
Satellite Phone is safest option - you should use like a two way (over, copy, roger etc - makes for much clearer conversation. ClientSat in Subiaco, Perth has outstanding service and knows the area. Best deal probs. Inmarsat iSatPro on a casual top up plan (has email).
NT - is similar but less - coverage around towns only

Gidday

I was working on a two week survey at Neale junction in the Great Victoria desert in early October 2008 while the markets were in meltdown.
every day at lunchtime I would tune in to the Radio Australia news on the shortwave to hear how bad that days carnage had been. At dawn we would get the update from overseas.
There was a sat phone in the camp but it wasn't for ringing brokers and advisers.
When I got back to the city I found my super fund had lost a heap but so had everyone else's.
My colleagues were actually in a worse state psychologically because they were sitting at work worrying, watching the news, trying to get advice. I was out in the desert having a great time, not worrying about something I could do nothing about.
Your need to communicate is obviously greater than mine so I wish you luck.
As others have said for mobile phone coverage Telstra is the only choice.
Enjoy the trip.

Cheers

Hi Don

If you need daily contact by phone, a satellite phone is the only way. If you need daily internet, again satellite is the only way. Australian Nomad Technology is the only one I know but there may be others. Not cheap to get set up with.

Motherhen

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Don,

As well as a sat phone, make sure you get an external aerial for Telstra 3/4g reception.

I bought a small, about 350mm long, aerial with magnetic base, and it can give continual reception between major towns.........as long as it's mounted on the roof of the vehicle.

If your current phone doesn't have a socket for aerial, some of the cheaper ones do, and are often "blue tick" as well. Some towns have free wi-fi near their libraries, or have internet access there as well.

I've found an iPad, with SIM card fitted, is useful for emails or surfing, as I'm away from home at least 4 nights/week. Pity Steve Jobs wasn't an Australian, he might have designed an external aerial socket into the iPad. They'd be even more versatile then!

Enjoy your trip. We hope to be up that way in July too, joining up with the kids in Normanton, then along your planned route.

Bob.