Some of the satellite phones are larger than the mobile phones that you see today and heavier. It is cheaper to buy compared to a mobile phone. In the event that you find yourself in a situation where you need a connection guarantee, where other alternatives do not exist or there is little, a satellite phone becomes an invaluable tool for meeting your general requirements for communication and, possibly, for living. In such cases, you may consider renting a satellite phone, which is affordable and will become a valuable and important asset on your journey to the middle of nowhere.
The satellite phone requires an open sky. It cannot be used from inside the building or in places where the sky is not visible. This is a satellite phone antenna, which must have a clear sky view from above in order for the phone to work. This would mean that such phones will not work indoors unless you are near a window with a clear sky. Moreover, the window must face the direction in which the corresponding satellite is currently located, if the satellite is a satellite with a low earth orbit (LEO). There is another type, which is called the satellite of the geostationary orbit of the Earth (GEO), remains in a stable state relative to the motion of the Earth. While the LEO satellite orbits the Earth at a relatively low altitude, a few hundred miles above the Earth, the GEO satellites are located approximately 22,000 to 32,000 miles above the Earth, where they remain in the same position above the Earth’s surface all the time.
If you are on a ship, you may have to go on deck to make sure that this is an open space for reliable operation of your satellite phone. If you are in a car, you would put an external antenna that came with the phone on the roof of the car to have a reliable connection. But remember that you may have problems with canceled calls in urban areas due to tall buildings. If you are outside, but in the middle of the forest, trees can block the line of sight of the satellite, and your calls may fall or break.
GEO satellites, which are much higher than the NOU, cover a large part of the Earth, can see a large area. On the other hand, the LEU will need a constellation of satellites to transmit communication information from one satellite to another in order to reach the desired destination. The LEO satellite rotates around the Earth in about 90-100 minutes, and this is the reason that the round-trip time is minimal. Moreover, being at a lower altitude, about 600 miles above the Earth, the power required to transmit signals from the Earth is much lower compared to GEO satellites. Satellite phones served by LEO satellites require a shorter antenna, while those designed for GMOs are quite large to provide the power needed to transmit signals to the corresponding satellite. The disadvantage of LEO satellites is that they must work in the fleet, since they rotate around the Earth at a higher speed, synchronized so that when one satellite leaves a certain position, the next one takes over.
There are several companies offering satellite phones for rent - Iridium, Globalstar, Inmarsat and Turaya.
The Iridium enterprises in the space sector have a network of 66 satellites in orbit about 500 miles above the Earth. These satellites are low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and operate as a constellation of 66 satellites. Iridium satellites cover the Earth’s surface with narrow beams, which provide a well-established link that does not cause transmission delays. Iridium phones are small and light, have a small antenna and have the function of connecting around the world.
Iridium gives you the flexibility to use your Iridium 9505A or 9505 phone on your car or on or off the boat. If you have a docking station with it, you will have an RJ-11 port for connecting conventional analog and cordless phones. The Iridium phone is equipped with a sophisticated filter that removes most of the noise that is usually present in the Iridium network.
As soon as your Iridium phone is activated, the closest satellite will detect your phone and determine whether the phone belongs to this group of satellites, and will also check your user account for its registration and authenticity. The satellite also determines the position of your phone. When making a call, the phone directly communicates with the nearest satellite. It is then transmitted from satellite to satellite until it reaches the corresponding satellite, which then re-transmits the information to the desired Earth station. Your Iridium phone connects you to the ground infrastructure anywhere in the world.
Features of your Iridium service include:
- Transfer voice, fax, email and data to anywhere in the world and from anywhere in the world.
- Roaming phone that you can take with you wherever you go.
- One phone number anywhere.
- Quick connection.
- One simple account for your account in one currency.
- You may have options for postal or prepaid connections.
- Available tariffs for calls with one base charge set to call PSTN lines.
- Incoming calls are free.
- Extremely easy to use.
- It provides a standard data transfer rate of 2.4 kbps and is able to provide 10 kbps through a direct online data service.
The average price offered for renting Iridium will cost about $ 9 per day, while insurance against theft and protection against losses will be $ 6 per day with a deductible of $ 400. The cost of an outgoing call will be $ 1.99 per minute, while receiving voice mail - $ 1.50 per minute. Calls to other Iridium phones can cost about $ 1.50 per minute, and calls to Inmarsat satellite phones cost $ 10 per minute.
The Globalstar was first launched on a progressive basis in 1999. Its commercial services were presented in three phases: the so-called “friendly users” in October 1999, the introduction of pre-service for competent users in November 1999, and the full commercial introduction of its services in North America in February 2000.
With the introduction of Globalstar, the entire communication scenario has changed. The emergence of a satellite phone sounded in an era when communication became possible even from those 50 percent of the world’s regions where there is practically no telecommunications facility.
Business homes, governments, and even recreational users now have the ability to communicate, no matter where they are, regardless of whether they travel to regions where infrastructures such as fixed and cellular coverage are not available. Satellite phone showed its clear advantage.
Globalstar services have begun to look for their way in many areas of industry, including:
- Natural resource companies, particularly oil and gas, mining and forestry enterprises
- Marine industry, fishing boats and recreational boats
- Transportation such as railways and trucking
- Cellular users who seek to expand the range of their existing services
- Various federal and provincial government agencies
- Leisure in remote areas and recreational enthusiasts who fish, hunt, snowmobiles, etc.
- Tourist ships, cruise ships, etc.
- Global business travelers who travel to destinations where local telephone service is unreliable or expensive
Globalstar's IPhones, which is a mobile device, the GSP-1600, has a selling price of around $ 750, which today is the most competitive equipment on the market. To rent a GSP-1600 mobile phone, it will cost you about $ 40 a week, with the following options and accessories:
- Voicemail $ 15.00 / rental.
- Internet access / email using a data set (serial cable and PC software) US $ 25.00 / rental.
- 12 volt dc adapter for cigarette lighter adapter $ 10.00 / rent.
- Leather case $ 8.00 / rent.
Regarding tariffs for calls, Globalstar offers:
- Home Area (US) - $ 1.59 / min.
- Canada Roaming - $ 1.59 / minute.
- International roaming / long-distance - $ 3.49 / min.
- Text messages 19 characters - for free.
The above prices are average values that can be changed.
Thuraya is a regional satellite service provider, mainly serving Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Service centers are located on one geostationary communication satellite with one backup and third version and are planned to be launched in 2007. The company is based in the Middle East and provides its services through various authorized service providers.
The company provides voice communication with portable terminals and marine or land stationary stations. It provides short messaging services (SMS), as well as data and fax services at a speed of 9.6 kbps. It also has 144 Kbps high-speed data services using a laptop-based Hughes terminal (ThurayaDSL) with built-in GPRS services, as well as services such as news, callback, voice mail, WAP, etc.
Currently, Thuraya has more than 250,000 pocket subscribers, while the slowdown has slowed during 2005. The handsets offered by Thuraya have dual-mode functions that facilitate work on the Thuraya satellite, as well as a GSM mobile phone operating at a frequency of 900 MHz throughput. This is different from the Iridium model, having the same function as Qualcomm phones in the Globalstar system. Qualcom is a CDMA / Satellite phone.
Thuraya has the following average costs:
- Calls to any destination other than those indicated in their list are voice: $ 1.25 per minute, data / fax service - $ 1.80 per minute.
- Calls to other Thuraya phones are $ 0.85 per minute, data / fax services are $ 1.40 per minute.
- Calls to Iridium - $ 3.00 per minute; Data / Fax service - $ 3.00 per minute.
- Calls to Inmersat - $ 3.00 per minute, Data / Fax service - $ 3.00 per minute.
- Calls to Inmersat A are $ 5.50 per minute, data / fax services are $ 5.50 per minute.
The charges shown above are average and may differ from the proposed offer.
Communications satellites led to a telecommunications revolution. It provided communication with the whole world, covering areas where none of the main communication infrastructures exist.
