A satphone dummy needs info

The grant only aplied to telephones bought in australia thought.

You have to be away from normal lines to yous the system to work on without the lines and saterlight.

GSM is better as it used the Telstra network.

EVERYWHERE ?

I dont think so!

Vodaphone and Globalstar are the same.

We use them at work. It is a dual system - Globalster for satellte reception - and CDMA when in range of CDMA network. And the CDMA coverage for Vodaphone is just as good as Telstra - I suspect that Vodaphone must piggyback on the Telstra System rather using their own towers.

Everywhere ? YES !
At work we drive around the whole South West of W.A. - which in satellelite terms is extreme. Older systems which use fixed satellites over the Pacific and Inian Oceans simply could not reach many of the areas we go to. But Globlstar does.

We use Globalstar in some really tough conditions (reception wise) such as deep river valleys and under Karri tree cover - and it works. The older fixed satellite systems would have no hope.

There is also the Telstra- Irridium system which works on a similar system to Globalstar - and you give as good a performance - probably even better. We haven't tried it yet.

One thing to note - the hands free kits costs just as much (maybe even more) than the phone itself. At work where we change vehicles every 60000km (which equates to less than a year for us) - we decided it isn't worth it. So we have to stop the car - get out and make the call.

I know! And the telstra people think it is better than the one they dont even have control of. Yhats wyh the share prices are down. I will never buy T2 shares. Its the other network if you know what i mean.

Sorry, that should have been 'dual' not 'duel', and also, speaking of dual, you can now get dual Sat/CDMA which I expect would be more useful than Sat/GSM when travelling in the outback.

Hi

That is correct, except if you were a globalstar client through Vodaphone (when they owned it) you are still billed direct by Vodaphone.

New customers are directed to Globalstar.

We are still through Vodaphone as we pay only $10.00 per month to be connected to Globalstar (and call costs of $2.97 per minute).

Cheers

I don't have a satellite phone but when I looked into the subsidy you were eligible for travel in the outback if you were travelling through the desert areas. Apply they can only say no. You must apply and get the subsidy before purchase.

Subsidy is different for WA compared to the rest of Australia. There was also a deadline for the subsidy. It runs out in the next year or two.

I'd encourage you to dig out the facts because if you travel out west and planning to purchase soon, you may well be eligible and legal.

Alan

My sat phone is a Motorola using Iridium network.

To use it I simply take the SIM card out of my Telstra GSM phone (which is setup for International Roaming) and put it in my Sat phone. Turn it on, wait for it to connect and away I go.

No connection fee, no monthly fee other than what I pay for the normal GSM service.

I'd like a few details if possible so that I could at least consider it...email jimshire1 at iprimus.com.au.
Thanks

Well, Im clearly behind Footloose in the que.

I'd be pleased also to have more info.

E-mail: laurie_m48 at yahoo dot com

Regards,
Laurie.

Jim,
The R290 is for Globalstar network. Motorola's for the Iridium network.
From my enquiries they are two seperate systems and standards so if you buy a particular brand of phone you are tied to a particular base network.

Geoff.

Hi Footloose / Geoff

That is correct. Phones are unique to particular networks. The Ericsson R290 will only work with Globalstar.

We have a R290 and have not experienced any problems. However, the R290 is no longer in production, so in time parts/service may be an issue.

Cheers

Thanks Dean and all, info much appreciated.
Cheers