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Satellite Phone - is it worth it?

  • 29-03-2016 10:09am
    #1
    Vallorrous
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19 ✭


    Title says it all.

    Have been offered a cheap one with 70 free "minutes" by a friend for 150.

    I honestly can't see any use for it WTSHTF - if there was some emergency everyone wouldnt everyone just use theirs and jam up the satellites?


Comments

  • #2
    daingeanrob
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 831 ✭✭✭daingeanrob


    sounds a very good price. i wouldn't pass it up if offered. what if practising bushcraft/camping/orienteering not a shtf scenario for the world but just for you, could well be worth it then


  • #3
    Watch Ryder
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 592 ✭✭✭Watch Ryder


    The only problem I have with SAT phones is they have a yearly fee you have to pay otherwise it gets turned off. That is in addition to the use fees etc.

    Not sure if this is still the case though.


  • #4
    Watch Ryder
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 592 ✭✭✭Watch Ryder


    Vallorrous wrote: »
    Title says it all.

    I honestly can't see any use for it WTSHTF - if there was some emergency everyone wouldnt everyone just use theirs and jam up the satellites?

    I don't think so. Sat phones aren't mainstream like smart and cell phones are. Also it's easier to jam up a cell tower than a satellite I'd have thought.


  • #5
    Sh1tbag OToole
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,973 ✭✭✭Sh1tbag OToole


    It depends. I used to have one but I got rid of it, I will get another one soon though.

    Thuraya ones are the cheapest to run. You only have to top it up by about $40 USD a year to keep it going.

    Iridium or Globalstar ones will cost a good bit more. You'd be spending about 20-30 quid a month even for very few minutes. Inmarsat ones are also expensive. Top ups for them are all sold through resellers so prices vary a bit.

    You have to keep in mind that the geostationary satellite based phones won't work in certain places where there is a building or a mountain blocking a certain spot in the sky. The closer you are to the spot along the equator the sat hovers above the less of a problem this is. I'm convinced Thuraya's coverage isn't as good as their map says. Could have been something wrong with just my phone but it didn't work in Iceland or on the ferry from Iceland to the Faroe islands.


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