What is everyones thoughts regarding satellite telephones? Rent vs Buy? If you would purchase one- where would you buy it from? Which brand/model? Where would you purchase minutes from? It would be used at minimum once or twice per year for hunting in remote areas.

I purchased one several years ago. In the long run, it is less than multiple yearly short term rentals. They are pretty cheap now.

I purchased the least expensive monthly plan which happened to have the highest price per minute. I think it is $30 per month. I generally go on 2 or 3 hunting trips out of the country annually. However, I have also used it in the US in remote areas or when we have had hurricanes.

I picked one up on ebay a few years ago for 200 bucks. Its been everywhere from the Bahamas, Africa and the arctic. I would suggest stay away from Globalstar as to my limitied understanding coverage for Africa is difficult.

Jeff

So what are you guys using for satellite phones?

Thanks,

Chuck

Iridium.

Iridium

Iridium

I own a Iridium 9505 that I bought five or six years ago. It is still going strong and I buy the regional Africa and Canada pre-paid plans. They work very well.

If you travel a lot, buying the phone is the ticket and the pre-paid minutes work out as the better deal.

Able communications has stood by me when the SHTF and that is important with a sat phone company. Bill Donelson is the guy to talk to.

BDonelson@able-usa.com

http://www.ablecommunications.com/

I rent Iridium phones for trips to Zimbabwe. Whether you decide to rent or buy, I recommend Explorer Satellite. Contact Andy Cool, the owner at acool@explorersatellite.com

I've used several vendors over the years and found Andy through a recommendation here on AR. I couldn't have been more pleased at the service and price Explorer delivered.

http://www.explorersatellite.com

Thanks all, I think I see a consensus here ...



Chuck

I have rented one for 3 safaris with the 2 of them being Iridium and the other being Thuraya. In Tanzania the Thuraya phone had much better service with almost no dropped calls, a much more common thing when there with Iridium. Nevertheless, on my last trip 6 months ago, I couldn’t find a good source here for a Thuraya phone and got an Iridium from Explorer Communications in Ft Lauderdale. They give a discount to safari hunters and offered as good of a deal as I could find online.
The phone worked well albeit with the customary dropped calls. All went well--until 2 months later.
I noticed some unusual credit card charges on my account. I started digging and noticed lots of them. They were all in the Ft Lauderdale/Miami area. I then remembered that I had to fax my credit card info to Explorer before going to Africa in early September. It became apparent that someone there got the info and had a big time with it.
FWIW, they made 115 charges and they were increasing in frequency as the weeks had gone by. Towards the end they were up to about 8-10 per day, mostly buying gas, Walmart, and Mexican restaurants.
Fortunately Visa insurance came to the rescue and the $9,000 plus in charges was all refunded to me.
I guess the point is that you need to be careful when renting these things from out of town, not to mention be careful how your credit card info is passed along.

I purchased the Iridium 9505A last year from GMPCS in Florida and love it. The customer service has been superb with them. I also purchased the all world minutes package and in a year's time have almost completely used it up. I would not travel to Africa or anywhere in the world without it. I have used it in Africa, Europe and Mexico, and when you need to talk to someone you can't beat having it at your fingertips. I have also used it here in the States to call Zimbabwe a number of times, and while in Africa we used it to call Australia as well. I see where Iridium now has a new Sat Phone out called the 9555. It is 27% lighter and 30% smaller than the 9505A and lists new at GMPCS for $1595, with a free Pelican carrying case.

Contact Andy Cool at acool@explorersatellite.com

He is the man with a plan!!!
Wow!
G

I agree call Andy at explorer he does a great job for us.
jj

I purchased an Iridium phone 6-7 years back and it has given me fantastic service. I use my phone just about every weekend as my farms are fairly remote with no cell phone network. The charge is $1 per minute which I feel is very reasonable considering that calls are mostly made out of necessity and are short. However, the only drawback if you can call it that, is that here in Southern Africa, a MINIMUM of $300 prepaid airtime has to be purchased at any one time, AND an annual recharge of $300 is required to keep your phone active. The airtime available prior to the recharge is not lost but keeps on accumulating.

I can also vouch for Andy Cool at Explorer - his company is VERY efficient and the rates are competitive. To put it into perspective I have three Iridium 9505 phones and run them year round....Andy saved me a bundle!!!

We have an iridium which has caused some dropped calls for zim, so, we bought a hughes bgan unit from andy cool and will be taking both units to zim this year.

The reason I go hunting is so no one can find me. I've told all my staff and family that there is no cell phone access, no e-mail, etc. Sat phones are a pest. Don't want one.

Want and need are two different things: we have to pay for all this fun even while we are having it.