subject: Understanding A Satellite Phone [print this page] Being completely mobile without the use of a cell tower for communications is one of the neat things that makes a satellite phone the best choice for anyone looking to buy a mobile phone where there isn't any choices. Landlines are great and so are cell phones if you are in the hub of a major metropolitan area, but useless if there is no signal when you are out and about doing your daily routines.
There are many reasons there is a need for these phones. Many places on the globe where people call home don't have cellular service or have the luxury of land lines or cables for phone communication. Where these are not available options a satellite phone will give you communication capabilities no matter where you are located.
There are of course people that live with regular phone access but who then travel outside of service areas. A sat phone will get you service anywhere there is a clear line of sight to the satellite. For someone that is away doing research or off on an incredible adventure, this is a link to civilization. There is no reason to buy one of these if it will only be used for a vacation. They are available to be rented.
It is always dangerous for anyone remotely located to have no link to the outside world. Mountain ranges can be treacherous on body parts and sometimes deadly if a fall occurs and having a link can be priceless. They still have a way to go to catch up with cell phones and the cost is higher than cellular as well as a annoying delay when talking. When you really need to get help of find out information, these issues will really seem petty and unimportant when urgency is screaming.
The three satellite networks that pretty much cover the whole globe are Iridium, Globalstar and Thuraya. Iridium boasts of connecting anyone at any location on earth using low orbiting satellites. There is also less speech delay than any other service. Globalstar is great for most any land mass other than the remoteness of earth's poles regions. If you have need of satellite service in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe or India, you are already familiar with the services of Thuraya, because of their dominance in these areas.
