Thanks, I was hoping their coverage was greater then the map indicated, and that somebody might have practical experience. I used Iridium twice in the Zambezi, but their signal strength, duration of signal and quality of voice are not up to the level of the Thuraya (which is near cellular quality).
But then, it's better then no signal at all!
Posts: 3153 | Location: PA | Registered: 02 August 2002
I am very amazed Thuraya is covering Europe too. I was most pleased in the middle of jungle in the CAR to have the opportunity to chat with my wife. A great accomplishment and easier than the iridiums at camp.
J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent
Posts: 1727 | Location: France, Alsace, Saverne | Registered: 24 August 2004
Hi Tim, the boys at www.kambako.com use the THURAYA and I'm considering buying one at the moment but have been told to also look at the ISATPHONE PRO from INMARSAT.
Posts: 5886 | Location: Sydney,Australia | Registered: 03 July 2005
Talking to Andy Cool at Explorer Satellite here in the US, he said they are having great luck with the ISATPHONE in Africa. The reason I didn't buy that one is because it doesn't work in Alaska and norther Canada, and I am there a good bit. The price is great on that phone...
Good Hunting,
Tim Herald Worldwide Trophy Adventures tim@trophyadventures.com
Posts: 2981 | Location: Lexington, KY | Registered: 13 January 2005
Originally posted by Tim Herald: I thought the phone Buzz had in Dande last year was a Thuraya??? My Iridium has worked wonderfully there every time.
I would not let that be the deciding factor for you. Seems like more often than not, Buzz ends up borrowing my Iridium phone to make calls. Maybe he is just trying to scam my minutes.
We used a Thuraya phone in the Luangua in 2009 and it worked, but not well. It seemed we had a lot of trouble getting and keeping a good signal. Last year in Tanz we took the new Iridium and it worked great.
In 2009 we had quite a bit of a problem with Thuraya in Tanzania - and even worse with Inmarsat.
Last year, however, Thuraya worked like a charm. We never had a single dropped call, and their sat modem worked great too. It has a wireless facility, so everyone was able to log in at their leasure wirelessly.