Satellite Phone

Timberline · #1 10/31/07, 08:01 PM

Anyone here have a satellite phone (not cell phone)? We have don't have very good cell phone reception here and none at our mountain property. I know the phones are very expensive, but have seen some monthly plans that are comparable to regular cell phones. Have been looking at Globalstar and would like to know if anyone has any experience with them or other companies.
Thanks in advance.

cfabe · #2 10/31/07, 09:33 PM

Stick with a cell phone and get a high gain external antenna or a 3 watt power booster. If you have any cell phone coverage within 20 miles you should be able to pick it up. I think you'd have to be incredibly remote or in a very poor location (valley floor etc) to not be able to get some signal with the right equipment.

Timberline · #3 11/01/07, 06:24 PM

Thanks, I will look into that. I'm sure it would work at home, but not so sure about our mountain property. It's in a very mountainous valley and close to 20 miles to the nearest tower. We spend a lot of time there, so would like to have emergency commincations for elderly parents, etc.

gunsmithgirl · #4 11/02/07, 08:59 AM

I don't know about phone but we had satellite internet for a while...worked about 1/4 of the time you needed it too. We get satellite tv just fine but the internet did not work at all most the time and that was with clear skys... and we might as well just hang it up if there was a cloud in the sky.

fantasymaker · #5 11/02/07, 09:04 AM

Ive had AMAZING Reception in remote areas with Cingular .Invite all your friends with dfiffent cell companies up to your mountain and see who gets reception!

CJ · #6 11/02/07, 09:10 AM

We have Alltel (because that's all that works back on our land) and yet here in AR, 20 minutes outside of Russellville, we have zero reception. We have a Wilson booster antennae that doesn't help at all.

texican · #7 11/02/07, 11:36 AM

I would do some research on sat phones, before I invested in one. Like, exactly where are the satellites in orbit, in relation to your location. If your in a mountain valley, you might not be able to hit the satellite. Also, how much are the plans... I read years ago, where the price per call was a tad expensive. Unless you could write it off as a business expense, it would be for emergencies only.

I dislike fervently having someone with a cell phone receiving calls, when I'm up in the mountains (trying to get away from it all).

lo6xzm · #8 11/02/07, 05:24 PM

I just cancelled T-mobile...It was OK on the interstate but once I got off road...It usually did'nt work. I know I can do better.

freeinalaska · #9 11/02/07, 06:07 PM

I have an Iridium phone for work when I'm in the bush, We tried out global star and Iridium and found that for our area, Interior Alaska, the Iridium was far superior for coverage. I did read that Global Star was adding additional satellites so their coverage should get better. The one thing about Iridium is that it is an international number so callers from the US have to dial 011 plus the number and that adds cost for anyone calling you. Aside from that I found the rates for both to be similar.

The whole Sat phone thing is pretty expensive to use as your only phone, but really cheap in the big picture for that one call when you are desperate. I've only had to use mine twice, once when my truck broke down 90 miles north of the arctic circle miles down a mining road and once when I was snowed in at a pass. The first use save me a good eight hours of walking and the second saved my wife 24 hours of worry. After you buy the phone you pay something like $30 a month to just have service and a per minute rate for calls. I think it's around $1.25 a minute, but I know it can get cheaper with different plans.

rzrubek · #10 11/02/07, 11:29 PM

These plans here look really reasonable, actually considering it's unlimited they are a bargain compared to cell phone plans. http://www.globalstarusa.com/en/airtime/voicepricing/
But the cost of the phones is a bit steep
http://www.globalstarusa.com/en/prod...50&target=Tab1
But for a really remote area, they can't be beat.

Quint · #11 11/03/07, 05:12 AM

I used Iridium. My employer provided it and it worked better than the cellphones where I was at. I had one handset go bad. No idea what was wrong with it but it was nothing I did. I didn't drop it or submerge it or anything.

Timberline · #12 11/06/07, 07:39 AM

Thanks everyone, for the thoughts and comments. The phone would be mostly for emergency use. We have elderly parents and my in-laws have some health issues. It's worrisome to spend a few days on the mountain knowing they can't reach us. Also, in the rare event the someone gets hurt up there. I do go up and go hiking by myself quite often. I think I can rent one and will take it up there for a trial run.