Satellite phones

Idris said:

Anybody on here use one, can recomend a cost effective tarif?

Gerald

I used to have a Globalstar network phone but got rid of it because
(a) their satellites are failing and you can never get a signal in the
UK when you want one, and (b) their roaming agreement with Vodafone
ended, so you now have to but a Globalstar SIM to make calls. Like
most satellite price plans it's expensive and the credits expire if
you don't use them - not much use if you only want it for occasional
use in an emergency.

I now have a Thuraya network phone (a Hughes 7100 - about £200 on
ebay) and it's great. No problems getting a signal in the UK. Best of
all they have roaming agreements with O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-
mobile so you can use any contract (not PAYG) SIM in it and the
satellite calls are just billed to your normal mobile account. There
is no need to get a Thuraya Satellite SIM at all. The satellite calls
are expensive but as I only use it in emergencies that doesn't matter.
If you want to make lots of satellite calls then a Thuraya SIM may
work out cheaper. Coverage isn't global but they have recently(?)
launched a third satellite to cover Australia and Asia, so they are
getting there.

I have no experience of the Iridium network but it has the reputation
for having the best global coverage and the highest call prices!

Quoted message said:

Idris said:

Anybody on here use one, can recomend a cost effective tarif?

Gerald

I used to have a Globalstar network phone but got rid of it because
(a) their satellites are failing and you can never get a signal in the
UK when you want one, and (b) their roaming agreement with Vodafone
ended, so you now have to but a Globalstar SIM to make calls. Like
most satellite price plans it's expensive and the credits expire if
you don't use them - not much use if you only want it for occasional
use in an emergency.

I now have a Thuraya network phone (a Hughes 7100 - about £200 on
ebay) and it's great. No problems getting a signal in the UK. Best of
all they have roaming agreements with O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-
mobile so you can use any contract (not PAYG) SIM in it and the
satellite calls are just billed to your normal mobile account. There
is no need to get a Thuraya Satellite SIM at all. The satellite calls
are expensive but as I only use it in emergencies that doesn't matter.
If you want to make lots of satellite calls then a Thuraya SIM may
work out cheaper. Coverage isn't global but they have recently(?)
launched a third satellite to cover Australia and Asia, so they are
getting there.

I have no experience of the Iridium network but it has the reputation
for having the best global coverage and the highest call prices!

Thank you for such a deatiled response. I just want something to use in
emegencies when there is no signal on my orange contract phone. So your
approach sounds absolutely ideal for my purposes.

Gerald

"Idris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Idris said:

Anybody on here use one, can recomend a cost effective tarif?

Thank you for such a deatiled response. I just want something to use in
emegencies when there is no signal on my orange contract phone. So your
approach sounds absolutely ideal for my purposes.

If this is for walking in the UK, you might find some PAYG Sims for the
other UK networks a cheaper alternative!

Typically your phone will list the other networks that it can receive even
if you can't establish a connection so you can see if this option is likely
to work the the places where you walk. Alternatively a foreign mobile sim
would likely let you access all the UK networks, in the same way that UK
sims let you choose which network you want to use when you are abroad.

--
Michael Chare