104 | AG Outdoor
massive antennas, but the technology advanced
quickly and the size of satphones reduced signifi-
cantly. These days, some satphones are no big-
ger than your average smartphone.
There are several satphone network choices
available, but the costs of subscriptions and the
reception coverage varies depending upon the
service.
One of the first satphone networks, and still
recognised as the only one that off ers truly
global coverage, is the Iridium Network. Iridium
can make this claim because it has the largest
satellite network, comprising 66 satellites that
operate at an altitude of 780km, orbiting in such
a plane that each location on the globe is cov-
ered by at least one satellite at any one time. The
satellites are cross-linked and route calls between
one another and down to Iridium’s ground gate-
way infrastructure, which then connects to your
chosen service provider’s network. So as long as
your Iridium satphone has a clear view of the sky,
you should always have satphone reception.
Inmarsat operates a network of 12 geostation-
ary satellites that orbit at an altitude of 35,786km
above the earth, and these off er satphone cover-
age across most of the globe, generally up to 70
degrees north or south of the equator, which will
cover most of Australia, but won’t be of much
use if you’re travelling to the North Pole or
spending a week in Antarctica. The other limita-
tion of using geostationary satellites is that if the
line-of-sight between the phone and the satellite
is interrupted (think foliage, terrain etc.) the call
will drop out and you will have to physically
change your location to regain a line-of-sight
position. With the aforementioned Iridium net-
work, if one satellite drops out you can wait until
another satellite comes into view.
The Thuraya network consists just two geo-
synchronous satellites but is claimed to off er
coverage in more than 110 countries thanks to
around 350 roaming partners worldwide that
provide access to land-based mobile GSM net-
works. Geosynchronis satellites remain perma-
nently in the same area of the sky as viewed from
a particular location on earth, and one of Thura-
ya’s satellites is claimed to serve most of Europe,
the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia, while
the other serves the Far East and Australia.SATELLITE PHONE HANDSETS AND PLANS
Iridium off ers a couple of hand-held satphone
solutions. The Iridium Extreme off ers satellite
voice and data and is GPS enabled for SOS and
tracking. It is a tough unit with an IP65 rating fordust/water resistance and it weighs just 247g,
measures 140 x 60 x 27mm, and can be bought
outright for under $2000. A more aff ordable
option is the Iridium 9555 at around $1650. It’s
slightly heavier at 260g and slightly bigger at 143
x 55 x 30mm, and lacks the Extreme’s GPS func-
tionality, but is a reliable and well-proven unit.
Iridium plans start at between $40-$70 per
month on two-year plans and two-minute call
rates are around $2.40-$4.40.
An Inmarsat IsatPhone 2 is a robust unit with
an IP65 rating that weighs 318g (with battery)
and measures 169 x 52 x 36mm. Overall length
increases to 75mm with the antenna extended.
It’s GPS enabled for SOS and tracking and can be
bought for around $1400 outright or for as little
as $1150 on a 24-month plan.
Inmarsat call plans range in price form $40-$99
per month and outgoing calls are charged in 30
second intervals from 40-75c depending on the
plan.
Thuraya off ers a wide range of handheld
satphone solutions, including the innovativeThe importance of a reliable communications system can’t
be understated when you’re travelling, particularly in
remote areas where you might not see other people for a
day, a week or even longer.
Making a satphone call
home from the summit of
Point Lenana, Mt Kenya