Sat phone as a modem.

Let me start by saying I'm not sure, but what I do know is that sat phones tethered as modems are very slow internet wise. I would imagine the cost when used how you propose using it would be high because the call costs when using mobile sims in sat phones are very high. To get best results with satelite internet you need a dish of some sort.

Hi Joe
You can already send short emails from your 9505A by using the SMS service. Just put the email address first in the message, then a space, then the rest of the message - normal SMS character limits apply. If you had an Iridium number, then people could also send emails to you, but as you're using a mobile SIM that may not work. You'd probably have to try it to see what happens, eg send an email from your sat phone, and see if the receiver gets it, and can reply.

Cheers
John

Hi Joe i have investigated it a bit the internet speed is comparable to dial up, you need data enabled which would mean (i think) to go to a designated sim card with a satellite plan. Had a bit of a play around with setting it up as a modem was a PITA so didn't bother in the end. At the moment rely on Mod phone and 3G modem and dip in and out of reception as needed. Will go with a designated sat set up in the future as have plans for more remote travel hope this helps.

Hi Joe,

The issue with using an Iridium device for internet access is charges are based on time used not MB downloaded. This is an issue due to the fact the data speed is 2.4 kbps (this means if you loaded google.com without the image it will take up to 5 minutes).

The best handset solution on the market is the Thuraya product. It offers a data speed up to 60KPBS and is billed per MB (or in 10kb packets). The cost of using Thuraya with Pivotel is pretty cheap for satellite data at $5 per MB.

Thuraya also have a XT with a wireless hotspot which makes connecting your laptop or tablet to a satellite device easy and pain free.

I have setup both a 9555 Iridium and a Thuraya XT on a laptop as a dial up modem and found this to be a painful experience. I have also use the hotspot and found that a dream (had it setup with 2 minutes).

Feel free to hit me up with any questions you have about setting things up.

Matt