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Rex
Strong
Telecommunications Editor
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The
Most Important Thing To Know About Iridium Satellite
Phones
Iridium satellite is often used synonymously
with global satellite phone services and rightly so.
Iridium is the only provider that makes available satellite
voice and data solutions across the globe – including
airways, oceans and even the Polar Regions. With 66 LEO
satellites and a network of over 100 partners, it is
little wonder that Iridium Satellite is the leading player
in the world of satellite communications.
The Iridium System
The Iridium system is a complete solution for all satellite-based
communications anywhere in the world. The wireless system
provides a comprehensive suite of voice and data features.
The Iridium system is made up of three primary components:
The Iridium satellite network:
Iridium owns 66 Low Earth Orbitting satellites or LEO
satellites, as they are known. It also owns 11 spare
LEO satellites all of which are orbiting in a constellation
of 6 polar planes. The satellites are organized in
such a manner that every region on Earth is covered
by at least 1 satellite at any given point of time.
The Iridium ground network:
The System Control Segment and telephony gateways make
up the Iridium ground network. The System Control Segment
is central to the functioning of the entire Iridium
system. Not only does it tack and control the movements
of the satellite but also acts as the global operational
center for all Iridium satellite services.
Gateways provide telephony services, messaging and support
for mobile subscribers and the linkage of the Iridium
satellite services to the land based telephone systems.
Thus, the way the Iridium system works is that voice
and data calls are relayed from one satellite to another
until they reach the satellite that covers the region
in which the user is located. Once the satellite locates
the Iridium Subscriber Unit or Iridium handset it relays
the call back to Earth.
Iridium Satellite Phones & Satellite Phone Accessories
Satellite Phones: Iridium offers a variety of portable
satellite phones like the Iridium 9505 portable phone
by Motorola, the 9505A and the 9500. All these satellite
phones are continually being improved to be smaller,
lighter and easier to use. The phones are resistant to
moisture, filth and shock and perfect for harsh conditions
and use. The Iridium satellite phones offer a talk time
of approximately 3 hours with a standby time of more
than 30 hours. The cost of these satellite phones is
about $1000.
Satellite Phone Accessories: Accessories include batteries,
chargers, safety cases, antennas and hands free to name
a few. There are some great cases to store the Iridium
satellite phones and accessories like extra batteries
and chargers. The Pelican 1300 series offers some durable,
waterproof storage cases to keep your satellite phone
safe when traveling.
You can also opt to rent an Iridium phone and buy some
airtime to go with it if you only need the phone for
a short period or a one-off trip.
Iridium Satellite Phone Airtime Plans
Iridium offers a variety of monthly and prepaid plans
to suit everybody’s requirements. You can buy monthly
plans from $30 - $275 with per minute rates varying from
$1.49 / minute to just $0.99 / minute.
You can also opt for the prepaid Iridium world cards
that offer rates ranging from $0.85 / minute to $2.12
/ minute.
Thus, Iridium Satellite offers reliable global satellite
phone services at affordable rates.
*All prices are as of Nov 2005.
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