WHAT IS THE BEST GLOBAL SATELLITE PHONE?

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of SatellitePhoneSales.com.au, Australia’s number one online satellite communications store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “What is the best global satellite phone?”

There are two networks with true global operation.

The first is Inmarsat. Inmarsat is the original military satellite network still used by the USA today. It has the highest orbital satellites and an unlimited budget.

The result is an outstanding network that has brought us very inexpensive data transfer speeds and satellite phone (?) units. These units are called BGANs which is short for Broadband Global Area Network.

The most common unit sold in Australia is an Explorer 300. Weighing in at around 1kg it is simply a satellite broadband modem. It plugs into your computer via an Ethernet cable and in seconds you have internet access anywhere on the planet at speeds of up to 384kbps.

Now, this comes with a caveat. Satellite world is not the same as day-to-day communications. I made the comment earlier that this is an inexpensive solution to data transfer, but coming in at around A(?)$4,000 it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

But it would be easy to forget that only a couple of years ago it would cost you around A(?)$78,000 for us to provide you with a solution that was 24kg and had speeds of only 64 kbps.

As you go up the BGAN range of products you can access more functions such as multiple telephone points, USB rather than Ethernet cables and even faster speeds.

The more commonly used global satellite phone network, however, is Iridium. This worldwide network has carved out a niche market in supplying unmatched global communications.

It simply comes down to this: if you are looking for a network that will connect you anytime anywhere on the planet, be it in the middle of the ocean or at the top of Mount Everest, or as we are more familiar with in Australia, the Outback - Iridium is the answer.

Its latest handset is a credit to Motorola, the designers and manufactures of the new Motorola Iridium 9555. A third smaller that’s its predecessor and with a built-in aerial makes this the most useable non-brick looking satellite phone available. All this while still recognising that it has a job to do.

Satellite phones are generally used in out-of-the-way places and, unlike normal mobile phones, are subject to harsh conditions and use.

Iridium have shown us over the last seven to eight years that they are up to the task.

To find out more information about the new Iridium 9555 unit go to www.satellitephonesales.com.au

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones or BGAN and the internet, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.SatellitePhoneSales.com.au or call us on 1300 197 600.