Satsleeve

Has been a couple of threads recently Go back a few pages and look for Satfones
General consensus is you can buy a s/h Motorola for much less and just use a Telstra sim out of you cell phone in it

Ththanks, Tom - what is an " s/h motorola" please?

Yeah, they're not cheap cp the competition and may be redundant if you change your phone. In that category of sat communicator one of the inReach models would be my choice but the airtime provider gouges you on usage costs IMO.

There are 4 sat comm providers in Aus: Inmarsat, Iridium, Globalstar and Thuraya.

Do a search of forums. There's more info than you can digest in a decade.

A search would have revealed this on page 3

http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Topic/132108/Satphones_confused.aspx?ky=&sn=&p=%2fForum%2fDefault.aspx%3fpn%3d3

One of literally hundreds

Yep we sell them but try to stay unbiased as we can supply ANT device on ANY network. The question is not if it works well (they work great!) but if it is the best fit for you.

If you want something to slip in your pocket the Thuraya XT-Lite may be a better option. If data is your thing you can't beat the SatSleeve for value for money.

The Thuraya plans we connect on are the best value of ANY network, post or pre-paid. $15 per month with no lock in contract and a standard mobile number meaning anyone calling you pays just the cost of calling a standard Australian mobile. This is a great cost management tool for you.

Be cautious of older Iridium handsets, spares are expensive and getting harder to source. (Battery is ca. $200!) On the other hand if you picked one up for a couple of hundred bucks it might be worth checking out.