Sat phone reception?

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Originally Posted by Bush65

I have not tried my nextg sim card yet. I remember seeing tables of Telstra call rates that specifically list the charges when a nextg sim is used in an iridium phone - so I think that is a given.

I intend to buy an iridium phone before my next simpson trip in july (I have hired in the past). Because I would only have the sat phone for occasional use, I don't want a plan with monthly charges, so will use the nextg sim card.

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where can you buy a iridium phone without a plan? telstra shop said they only supply on a plan

Theres a NSW Central Coast mob who do, about $200 more than Telstra from memory.

But I can't did their URL now..

Marlec might do do it.

But in searching, I've tripped over this European satphone, which seems to be coming our way - a new satellite is up.
thuraya satellite phones dual mode GSM

Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications » Thuraya SG-2520

No car kit that I can see, & obviously durability is an unknown.

Anyway, it looks like the next generation is on its way. The Iridium Motorola 9505A was never an optimum setup, with its high compression & US groundstations. Its only the US military that are keeing this system going.

The BGAN family are worth keeping an eye on too e.g.

Nera WorldSet Pro - Nera SatCom

But until they launch a Pacific satellite, its no good on the east coast. WA users appear ok.

Anyway I'm going to watch for the Thuraya launch.

Regards
max P

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Originally Posted by Bush65

I tried my cdma sim card in an iridium sat phone with no problems.

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i thought cdma didnt use sim cards

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Originally Posted by jik22

Bearing in mind the discussions about the GSM SIM in the thread, don't suppose you have a Tesltra SIM you can try in it, do you?

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No, my mobile is vodafone.

The bottom line is globalstar phones are dual use ie gms and sat, not the iridium.

If you have an iridium phone, a Telstra sim will work in it (sat only) BUT, I have been told that the sat call costs when used in this way are greater than $30 per minute. This is both ways, incoming and outgoing.

I went with TR Telecom. Been very good so far.

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Originally Posted by Bush65

I tried my cdma sim card in an iridium sat phone with no problems. I had global roaming enabled for the cdma phone beforehand. The call was charged to my cdma phone bill at a higher rate.

I have not tried my nextg sim card yet. I remember seeing tables of Telstra call rates that specifically list the charges when a nextg sim is used in an iridium phone - so I think that is a given.

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That's helpful, thanks. Think I'll take my NextG SIM in with me when I go to have a look, and make sure in advance they're happy to let me try it. (Though in an area of GSM reception, unless you can force it to use the satellite, I may not be proving much.)

Jeff,

If your NextG sim works in the Iridium phone, it will ONLY be on Satellite not the normal NextG network.

An Iridium phone is ONLY capable of satellite comms. Unlike Globalstar's Telit 550 which is a dual system phone.

So you won't have to force it as that's all it can do.

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Originally Posted by Jamo

Jeff,

If your NextG sim works in the Iridium phone, it will ONLY be on Satellite not the normal NextG network.

An Iridium phone is ONLY capable of satellite comms. Unlike Globalstar's Telit 550 which is a dual system phone.

So you won't have to force it as that's all it can do.

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Perfect, for me that's ideal then.

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Originally Posted by jik22

That's helpful, thanks. Think I'll take my NextG SIM in with me when I go to have a look, and make sure in advance they're happy to let me try it. (Though in an area of GSM reception, unless you can force it to use the satellite, I may not be proving much.)

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First, you need to contact telstra and get global roaming enabled on your nextG, - no charge for this.

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Originally Posted by waynep

i thought cdma didnt use sim cards

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My old kyocera cdma phone didn't have a sim card, but the nokia cdma that I replaced it with definitely had a sim card.

AFAIK gsm sim cards also work in iridium phones, but i have tried them myself.

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Originally Posted by Jamo

No, my mobile is vodafone.

The bottom line is globalstar phones are dual use ie gms and sat, not the iridium.

If you have an iridium phone, a Telstra sim will work in it (sat only) BUT, I have been told that the sat call costs when used in this way are greater than $30 per minute. This is both ways, incoming and outgoing.

I went with TR Telecom. Been very good so far.

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I'm with telstra and don't have a clue what the situation is with other providers.

I can't remember the exact rates. The rate is more expensive if you use the nextg sim in a sat phone, about double normal, and about the same if you make calls from overseas. It is listed in the tables of call charges, which I think you can find on their web site.