We're looking to buy a satellite phone. Doing a lot more setups lately at remote sites and we need to call the satellite operators by phone to get the
services turned on.
Seems like Iridium and GlobalStar are the main choices. As near as I can tell, with Iridium you can simply buy minutes but with GlobalStar you need to
get a contract and pay each month plus minutes?
If you buy a used GlobalStar phone, do you still have to buy a contract with them in order to use their service?
Any experiences with either you'd like to share?
Where to find the best deals on minutes?Paulina - 6-25-2009 at 06:29 PM
We bought a used Iridium phone. We buy our minutes as we need them, however they have other options available for those who would use their phone more
often than we do.
P<*)))>{BigWooo - 6-25-2009 at 08:35 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Paulina
We bought a used Iridium phone. We buy our minutes as we need them, however they have other options available for those who would use their phone more
often than we do.
P<*)))>{
I had no idea Iridium had a pay-as-you-go plan now. That's great . Our
16 year old Inmarsat has seen better days.
We have the Inmarsat Mini-M and have been very happy with it. When we bought it, Inmarsat was the only sat provider that didn't have a montly fee.
Phone was more expensive, but over the long run it's been much less costly using the pay as you go service. Inmarsat coverage has been 100% for us.
If Iridium has a pay as you go plan now, I think they're the best option. We had an Iridium before their bankrupcy long ago and never had coverage
problems. I've been with others, and know racers with Globalstar and they seem to experience a lot of dead spots.elgatoloco - 6-25-2009 at 11:40 PM
Iridium.Sharksbaja - 6-26-2009 at 11:14 AM
DON"T DO GLOBALSTAR. They suck imho. I used them for 3 years.
Bad customer service. Overcharges. Poor reception and coverage. Mucho dinero. Giant phones. What did I miss?Alan - 6-26-2009 at 01:41 PM
We just ran tests on our Sat phones and couldn't get the Globalstars to work. After contacting them they advised their sats were down until possibly
fall. Iridiums worked fine
[Edited on 6-26-2009 by Alan]tripledigitken - 6-26-2009 at 01:45 PM
We have rented Iridium phones twice. Worked great in Baja.bill erhardt - 6-26-2009 at 06:22 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Paulina
We bought a used Iridium phone. We buy our minutes as we need them, however they have other options available for those who would use their phone more
often than we do.
P<*)))>{
I fish alone and often fish offshore on or beyond the fringe of vhf communication. Several people have suggested that a satellite phone would be a
good idea. I agree (this from a guy who has never owned a cellphone), but have always become bogged down in the details when I've looked into it.
How would one go about buying a used Iridium phone and time on it only when it is used? And, would such a phone remain active if not used for long
periods of time, maybe never?Paulina - 6-26-2009 at 07:45 PM
I've gotten a few u2us on the subject, so I'll just post the info I've been sending out:
We deal with GMPCS personal communications. 954-973-3100.
We buy 75 pre paid anywhere minutes that are good for 30days after activation of the sim card. If you don't keep using it, let the card expire, then
after 90 days you will need to be issued a new sim card. The last time we bought minutes (last summer) it cost $165.00
When we started to get low to our minutes we would call them and have them add with our debit card.
We take ours out on the panga with us in a dry bag.
Sometimes we'll buy our minutes, but ask that they not activate our card for x amount of days. That lets us get out in the boonies without using up
any of our days in transit.
P<*)))>{bill erhardt - 6-26-2009 at 07:52 PM
Paulina........Thanks.Howard - 6-27-2009 at 08:09 AM
Here is a question for you well traveled Nomads. Has anyone every tried either one of these phones in Alaska? I spend around 30-45 days a year in
Baja and will be taking a trip to Alaska next month. Any of these phones work up there? Last time up to the last frontier I noticed that the TV
satellite dishes were at a radical angle trying to pick up the
satelittes that as I understand orbit near the equater.
. Our
16 year old Inmarsat has seen better days. 