Thread: New satellite phone

The guys at Inmarsat are working through, with the Telcos etc etc, to have an emergency number set up.

In the interim will be setting up the following:-

0730556200 (this is the land line equivalent to 134444 which is the manned 7x24 for non-emergencies and they will transfer to 000) The 134444 is a national number.

Royal Flying Doctors Services
RFDS WA 089417 6389
RFDS Mt Isa 074743 2802
RFDS South 088088 1188
RFDS Central 088648 9555

And
RACQ Assist 0733612444 (Switch number so business hrs only)

Originally Posted by pohm66

The guys at Inmarsat are working through, with the Telcos etc etc, to have an emergency number set up.

In the interim will be setting up the following:-

0730556200 (this is the land line equivalent to 134444 which is the manned 7x24 for non-emergencies and they will transfer to 000) The 134444 is a national number.

Royal Flying Doctors Services
RFDS WA 089417 6389
RFDS Mt Isa 074743 2802
RFDS South 088088 1188
RFDS Central 088648 9555

And
RACQ Assist 0733612444 (Switch number so business hrs only)

I have quite a comprehensive list if you would like me to pm to you, not prepared to put on the public forum but quite happy to pm
cheers
blaze

We bought an IsatPhone Pro (Inmarsat) for our trip and, as suggested by previous posters, have simply programmed in RFDS numbers for emergencies. What I love about the Inmarsat pre-paid option is it's cheap enough to use the sat phone for regular calls. We've used it to book ahead into van parks from remote places; call mechanics back home for assistance with car troubles; keep in contract with friends and family.

I think it's better being able to use the phone, rather than it sitting in the car waiting for an emergency. Only think to remember is to ensure you have enough credits in your phone to be able to make the emergency call when you need to. Once the credits run out, you can't call, even in an emergency.

Using the phone regularly also ensures you know that the battery is charged!

I bought ours through AST Australia.

Originally Posted by goldey

Very interested also. Where did you get the phone from? We are travelling for almost 5 mths later this year and the idea of having the sat phone for the remote parts is very nice.

Regards

Goldey

I picked one up from AST Australia (based in Perth, with offices in eastern states also). Great service, and pre-paid is definitely the cheaper option, but you need to make sure you have sufficient credit on your phone to be able to make emergency calls (where as plans will let you make the call regardless).

Originally Posted by miky

Costs and what you get seems to depend on the dealer.
For example the IsatPhone Pro ( IsatPhone Pro ) has a built in gps and it will send your position as a text or email message.
And it can receive text messages.

See the website above for details of what this phone can do.
The site says that it will do data early 2011. Slow data to be sure but it depends on what you want to do with the data.

But... will your dealer provide you with a plan that does more than just phone calls?

So, can you guys tell us something about using the gps and text messaging?

I've used text message a lot and it's very convenient. It's also possible for people to send me a text for free from the Inmarsat website, so it's a great way to keep in contact. You can also send emails from the IsatPhone Pro - which is very handy. I was able to contact my parents this way to make sure they were OK during the recent hurricane in the Bahamas.

We've tested our IsatPhone Pro in many remote locations and it's worked every time. The only time it didn't work was in the bottom of a deep gorge, which was to be expected. As soon as I was out of the gorge I had reception.

As I said in an earlier post, the call rates are cheap enough so that I feel happy to use the phone for general communications, not just emergencies. When you've spent the money, you might as well enjoy getting use out of it!

Originally Posted by 87County

G'day Blaze - we'll look foward to your report.

Is it on the Iridium system?
ie. does it work anywhere or just in certain satellite footprints ?

G'day 87Country. It runs off geostationary satellites from Inmarsat. My understanding is that geostational sats had a bad rep, because there were generally fairly low in the sky (2-300km) - meaning that in Australia you had to have a view of the sky 20-30 degrees above the horizon. Inmarsat sats are apparently 700km up, and so it's much easier to get a clear line of site, overcoming the limitations of other geostationary sats (e.g. Globalstar).

As I said in a previous post, we've had reception pretty much every where we've tried (Limmen Nat Park in NT; Elsey Nat Park nr Mataranka; El Questro Station; Lawn Hill Nat Park in QLD; along the Gibb River Road; at Kind Edward River up toward Kalumburu; Bungle Bungle Nat Park (except in the gorge itself). I've been very happy with the coverage.

I bought one of these phones just before going "bush" and can also confirm it works very well.
For $1 per minute to any phone in the world and 50 cents to send a text to any mobile in the world, and of course you can send emails = good value IMO

People can send you a message for free and you receive it for free.
But for $100 that lasts for two years, just use it.