satellite phone

G,DAY ALL
We need to buy our first sat phone, can some one point me in the right directions.
THANK YOU..
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Reply By: olcoolone - Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 19:39

Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 19:39
For your first satellite phone I would look at the Iridium 9555 on a $35 plan with Pivotel, out going call costs on par with most other carriers with retail outlets in Australia and incoming calls to the your satellite phone payable by the person instigating the call at normal mobile phone rates around 30 cents per 30 seconds.

You can get cheaper out going call from overseas companies but the down side is incoming call are charged to the person instigating the call at between $2.50 and up to $15 per minute.
AnswerID: 460811

Reply By: Member - Vince M (NSW) - Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 19:54

Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 19:54
iridium sat phones are No1 (packages ?) I used some USA pre paids for a while & found them to be the cheapest as most have no monthly fees but was only using it for emergences & now I'm using pivotel as they only charge incoming calls within Australia at a std mobile phone rate & I found that telstra charge all incoming calls at international rate

Good luck as there is no simple answer
AnswerID: 460812

Reply By: snoopyone - Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 20:11

Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 20:11
Respectfully, do a search on "Satfones" or " phones" on here.

The question has been asked interminably almost every week so there is a plethora of advice about it all
AnswerID: 460813

Follow Up By: snoopyone - Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 20:12

Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 20:12
Woops the spellchecker changed it "Satellite Phones"
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Reply By: Motherhen - Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 22:24

Sunday, Jul 24, 2011 at 22:24
Hi Tripping Oz

Someone recently drew my attention to a Immarsat phone at Sat phones on line. They purchased it on a prepaid plan. No monthly fees, and can use credit over a two year period. I have not as yet confirmed if the network is Australia or overseas, as this makes a difference for calling emergency services 000.

For where to find out about calling emergency services and about subsidies see Satellite phones

Motherhen
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Follow Up By: muffin man - Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 10:30

Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 10:30
Motherhen,
You must have missed the discussion here a few weeks back as the Immarsat phones do not allow emergency access.
MM
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Follow Up By: Member - Vince M (NSW) - Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 11:01

Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 11:01
motherhen
with my iridium using USA pre paid in southern states of Australia all ways (5 times) went thru on 000 & twice in northern Australia did not go thru at all & had to dial international & correct number & now with Pivotel no problems other than the call centre but I now tell them straight away that its a call from a sat phone & the state I,m calling from
why is it that when you had no communication's you were never asked Or came across people that needed life saving help ASAP & since I purchased my sat phone it seems were a magnet for it. had to ring 3 times in 3 trips to Bendeathra all strangers, 1 slipped on rocks walking to the caves & smashed head in (real bad) & a drowning got him going but water on lungs & head injury (playing on Tarzan rope) & as post a few weeks ago new car bogged in creek but no one around & the keys left in it
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Follow Up By: Mick O - Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 13:24

Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 13:24
MH, the network is overseas. The various providers are all O/S based as well. The outgoing call rates from the phone are reasonable at 70c per minute but don’t try calling it from any form of phone in Australia (including other Inmarsats) as the rates are astronomical. Cheaper for the phone user to contact you. You can send a free SMS to the phone through the Inmarsat website but even these have a habit of disappearing into the ether.

I’ve been trying to keep in contact with EO members JayDub, Equinox and Phil B who are currently in the wilds of the Great Sandy Desert and I’m pretty sure that very few of the messages I’m sending are arriving at their intended destination.

I recently bought a new Motorola 9555 through Pivotel. I’m on the $35 plan and the phone performed well on the trip over the last two weeks. There were occasional dropouts but that could have been from the user end as Queen Vik was calling from her mobile. We’re just waiting for the Optus home phone bill to see if the calls made from the landline fitted into our Optus “bundled” plan.

Having been bitten by the Globalstar fiasco, I’m just a little wary of the Inmarsat phone at present. Jaydub will be able to give us a more considered evaluation on his return. He is running his Motorola 950 side by side with the new unit.

Cheers Mick
''We knew from the experience of well-known travelers that the
trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
Richard Maurice - 1903

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Follow Up By: Motherhen - Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 13:37

Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 13:37
Thanks Muffin Man, Vince and Mick

As most of us have sat phones principally for emergencies, travellers need to know just what to dial in an emergency as the mind won't think clearly and a local number may be impossible to find anyway with no computer or any other phone listings available. Hard enough to remember the PIN to turn on the phone when under pressure!

I had been told about the high cost of calls to Immarsat, and the free SMS. It seems the Iridium network is still the best option.

Vince, you must be someone's guardian angel to come across such circumstances.

Mh
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Follow Up By: tripping oz - Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 18:12

Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 18:12
THANKS everyone for taking the time to share your knowledge with us really appreciate it.

David

GOD Bless
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Reply By: mike39 - Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 19:09

Monday, Jul 25, 2011 at 19:09
We have been using our Inmarsat regularly for the past 10 weeks from around Normanton, across the gulf, NT then into the Kimberley (where we are now) without any problems either voice, sms or email (both limited to 160 characters including address)
But NO, dont ask anyone to call you on voice. Its a nasty price they have to pay!
Could not be happier with its performance.
mike
AnswerID: 460910

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