Who Here Knows Satellite Phones?

[JD D05]

Been wanting one for years and it is time I think. Have no idea how this work from a service or which one to buy?

300$ to 2000$..

Anyone have some advice?

 

[McKay]

I have had one since 2008 or so. I use Explorer Sattelite and talk to Andy Cool. I personally use an iridium as I use it all over from Africa to Alaska to hell it is always in the boat at Lake Powell. Where you want to use it will determine the costs as you can pick up cheaper packages if for say you only want it to work in the "Americas" or "Northern Hemisphere" etc.

 

[JD D05]

I have had one since 2008 or so. I use Explorer Sattelite and talk to Andy Cool. I personally use an iridium as I use it all over from Africa to Alaska to hell it is always in the boat at Lake Powell. Where you want to use it will determine the costs as you can pick up cheaper packages if for say you only want it to work in the "Americas" or "Northern Hemisphere" etc.

This is going to be for North America only and mainly lake Powell. Is Andy Cool a service?

 

[McKay]

This is going to be for North America only and mainly lake Powell. Is Andy Cool a service?

No I believe he owns Explorer Satellite.

http://www.explorersatellite.com/

I would just give him a call and tell him where you want to use it. He might steer to another service since you only want to use it in a limited area. Iridium I think is the more expensive option. But when I was buying mine it was the only one that works anywhere around the globe.

 

[Chopperman]

I have used Iridium quite a bit and the service is very reliable, globally. The phones can be a bit pricey though. I've been looking at an Inmarsat IsatPhonePro. Haven't tried one yet, but they seem to be reasonably priced and coverage areas seem pretty good as well. Service isn't too bad either.

 

[pronstar]

I've been looking at an Inmarsat IsatPhonePro. Haven't tried one yet, but they seem to be reasonably priced and coverage areas seem pretty good as well.

Coverage area?
Isn't having "the earth" as your coverage area sort of the whole point of a sat phone?

 

[Singleton]

Coverage area?
Isn't having "the earth" as your coverage area sort of the whole point of a sat phone?

1 satellite does not cover earth. Big reason DTV has 21 satellites coveting South America through North America. Coverage is based on the network of satellites the provider has access to

 

[Wayn-o]

We rent them for the Baja 1000 when we do the whole peninsula run and I have the Iridium / Motorola. The Iridium rentals allows you to use the phone while driving down the road where the Globalstar service did not. You had to be parked still.
With mine, I purchase minutes when we go prerunning or for the race. With the rentals, you can buy different minutes packages. All road sat and sat modo are San Diego. Many of the rentals come from Florida

 

[pronstar]

1 satellite does not cover earth. Big reason DTV has 21 satellites coveting South America through North America. Coverage is based on the network of satellites the provider has access to

My assumption was that satellite phone service used a system of satellites to provide planetary coverage.

Unless the satellite is in geosynchronous orbit, coverage area will depend entirely on where the sat is in its orbit...?

One satellite doesn't make sense to my simple brain...

 

[YOLO]

I have an Iridium/Motorola 9555 and have used it everywhere on this rock. I think there are some newer models that are probably even better but have no experience with them. Prepaid cards work well but I opt for the monthly service and +1 local service. It allows people to dial or text a local az number to get a hold of you when needed instead of the 16 digit satellite number.

 

[Chopperman]

Coverage area?
Isn't having "the earth" as your coverage area sort of the whole point of a sat phone?

You would think, but that's not really the case. Most satellite phone service providers are regional so to speak, in the sense that they only cover certain continents or hemispheres. Some carriers have overlapping coverage areas and have good service/coverage in most of the world, but sometimes a carriers coverage can be dependent on the time of day. Iridium is about the only true worldwide/global satellite phone/data provider. Meaning that you can use it anywhere on earth. Consequently, because of their vast network of reliable satellites their service is one of the most expensive. But if you want piece of mind while abroad that you can make calls or be reached its worh it for some folks. Inmarsat is pretty good for global coverage, but has some dead areas. There are quite a few regional satellite phone companies that I've had friends use in various places around the world that work just fine in their respective coverage areas too.

 

[JD D05]

Ok after this thread and a couple conversations it became very obvious Iridium is the way to go. Picked one up today.