Sat phones

Hi big bo, We have had our Globalstar for over three years and had no problems with it until last year, we don't mind paying for a service that has been promised but we are not getting that service so why are they insisting on being paid, they told me that they have five sats up and running now and the other three will be up in the next couple of months, last may I was advised by Globalstar that all the sats would be up and running by the end of the year (2007) but that hasn't happened but they still want their money.

Cheers

D

Hi Mike DID, I'm not good at this web searching (not like you lot on here) I Googled Iridium and got this web page for them and under products there on top of the list was Globalstar, so in my disgust I closed it down and walked away. Now in my defence I could have had a sat phone website but I was so cross at the time that when I saw Gobalstar I just closed it all down in disgust and walked away. I will see if I can find that web page again.

Cheers

D

Mr Dunworkin it sounds like you Googled some service provider who sells both brands of Sat service.

Global$hit and Iridium are two totally different services and companies.

I also think its crap that Global$hit keep claiming a deal with Iridium in the future as all that Iridium has to do is wait for Global$hit to fold and you are theirs anyway.
As a company they have no credibility at all and I'm surprised that anyone still pays them anything for a service that does not work.

Hi John, we had our payments waived for a few months as a result of a very unfortunate incident on our last trip last year, but with the promise of all the satellites up and running by now hubby and I thought that given the fact that for the first 2 1/2 yrs that we had it it worked great we would stay with them, but it seems to be an ongoing thing and doesn's seem like any solution so I have had enough.

As far as the webpage that must be what I did, proof that you should stop and think before you act out of anger, I can't even find that particular page now, wouldn't you know it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers

D

HI peter ,thats exactly the stage im at too .I hope it goes ahead as i feel ive been totally ripped off the last 8 months or so since i found the service lacking.
Pete

Now if the lady that I spoke to yesterday had told me that (instead of saying time and again that "I don't know what you want me to say") I would have been a lot happier that at least they had something in the pipeline, instead I came away with the feeling that nothing is ever going to change.

We have sent out phone up on the mines with our son and he is going to take it out and see if it will work up there now, if not another call to Globalstar and hope that I get someone who knows a bit more about it.

Cheers

D

Hi Bungarra, We had a great run with ours to start with, took it out on the CSR had no problems, always worked, had no delays at all, it was as good as any mobile but last year we had a major problem with it so we are hoping that once/if those satellites get up and running we will have that service again but in the meantime I don't think that we should be expected to pay for a service that is not there.

Cheers

D

Hi Grungle, that is a good point, I have never complained to either of those departments, I think that when I get upset with the things that I consider "rip offs" I vent my displeasure for a while then I cool down and think 'well I am the one who got caught' so I seem to wear it, but as I said, good point and maybe that is what is needed if it hasn't already been done.

Cheers

D

'My GSTAR works when i want it too..........'

But does it work when you need it?

Leroy

Hi Stocky, I haven't tried mine in the South of the state (WA) of late but it always worked down there, have never had a problem with that, the problem is when you get up the North & Centre in the remote areas, (which is where you need it in an emergency and that is where we got caught hence my anger) and the signal is not there, the feeling of frustration is to be experienced to be understood.

Cheers

D

"might take a few minutes to lock onto a signal but it ALWAYS does"

Where ? When ?

My experience mirrored those dissatified posters above.
All across the middle of Oz, coast to coast.
No reliable service anywhere, period!
And when I asked why is it so, they didn't bother to return any of my six calls. That's NO WAY to treat a polite but firm enquiry. So I enquired elsewhere and found the degridation of their network etc etc and then posted it here.
As a company, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.
As far as having a medical emergency, I would still have been waiting. They were advertising it as a safety blanket that covered the whole of Australia. What #rap!
As for any potential future deal with Irridium...as I said, I don't trust them one cm.
For any poor suffering subscribers here, I sincerely hope that things get better, but.......

All over outback SA.......

GSTAR sent info regrading the degredation to ALL dealers with info to pass onto the customers - they also sent it out with their bills - not sure why you didnt get it.

Hey mine works - lucky me - same as my NextG - that works fine too (better than my CDMA ever did)

Stocky, the emergency that I mentioned in my reply to you above was a fatal car accident on the Tanami, there were two badly injured passengers laying on the side of the road in heat, now I know that if you have problems out there you are not going to get blue/red flashing lights in five minutes but every minute helps so if you can get the message through via a phone straight away at least that is some time saved, as it happened the injured were on the side of that road for 13 yes 13 hours, a long time, fortunately about 1/2 after we got there someone came along with a epirb and another rocked up with an iridium but if our phone had been working the wheels of help would have been in motion a 1/2 hour earlier, not much but if you were the injured one on the side of the road in the heat and flies that half hour would help.

Cheers

D

I didn't try SA, but it certainly didn't work in Qld, NT or Wa for me.
GStar (Oz) are just up the road from me in Southport. At the time (2005/2006) they didn't want to know anything about a lack of service, and the tech info wasn't commonly known in Australia unless you searched the Net, or talked to one of their engineers (I did both) They refused to believe that there was a problem, I must have been doing something wrong they told me. And yet, not only did they know what was happening, their parent company in the US stock price had already dropped because it was common knowledge in the industry. Mind you I found this info through my contacts, as far as they were concerned I was just another dill.
The info was only released AFTER they worked out that it was in their best interests; too many people were having problems and consumer laws just MIGHT have had something to do with it.
Despite not trying their service all over outback WA, I stand by my post.

Oops WA=SA of course...sorry, seniors moment AGAIN LOL

Hi Foorloose, When did the problems start with Globalstar, it was in 2005 that we did the CSR and we were very happy with the service then, could even make calls at Durba Springs, (cost us a fortune keeping it touch with the family but that is what we wanted it for plus emergencies), we didn't go outback in 2006 but when I contacted Globalstar last year before we did the Tanami etc: they told us that it would be OK but it finished up on the floor in the back of the car with everything piled on top of it, useless piece of work that it was.

Cheers

D

Hi Dunworkin, I've just checked and it was June 2006. It suffered from
NO SERVICE

Dropouts

Mysterious tones across the line.

I'd wanted to try their service and report how good it was...sadly not the case. I wanted to toss it, but kept it just in case the problems were of my making...they weren't.

Luckily we also had HF and could contact the bases every day. Got to have something if you're the only vehicle for 600K :))
I've also come across the accidents of others, luckily HF has helped.

These days I carry HF and an Irridium (and an epirb).

Thanks for that Footloose, that is why it was still working great in 2005.

Son has a company mobile, he is only taking the sat phone to check it out for us, he will be back next week.

Geez $1k for a monthly mobile bill there's a headache in itself.

Cheers

D

Perhaps..but it's HOW they suck those eggs that counts :))

fair call ROFL :-)

Stocky, I'm sorry if I sound like I'm laying into Globalstar too hard but I do speak as I find and that is why I say we had a good run to start with, we have stayed with Globalstar because of that, my complaint is that they are not telling us the way it is but still want us to pay them the money, and the attitude of the girl I spoke to yesterday was nothing short of second rate service.

I am glad that you are having a good run with yours and hope it continues, I will report back on the results that our son has up North.

Cheers

D

There's no way I'd send my son back to Headland with a sat phone. His normal mobile's bill last month was 1K !!!!! :)))))