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Top Satellite
Phone Rentals for
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Rex
Strong
Telecommunications Editor
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Should
You Rent or Buy a Satellite
Phone?
The decision to buy or rent satellite phones
has to be made keeping in mind several factors.
Satellite phones are often the only means of communication
available to industries related to maritime operations,
mining, oil and aviation.
They also play a crucial role during times of natural
calamities or for disaster management efforts. Hence
the decision to rent or buy a satellite phone must be
made keeping in mind the circumstances and usage of the
phone itself.
Firstly, one needs to evaluate whether the need for
the satellite phone is temporary, recurring or permanent.
In case of travelers or adventurers the need is often
just temporary. You are going for a one-off vacation
to the Sahara desert and a satellite phone is a must.
For people with jobs that continuously take them to remote
areas like war correspondents working in the field or
national geographic documentary photographers, the need
for a satellite phone is recurring. And lastly, for corporations
and companies that have offices in isolated areas the
need for satellite phones is permanent.
Simple logic dictates that when the need is temporary
it is better to simply rent a satellite phone rather
than invest in buying one. For recurring users and permanent
office use, buying is obviously the better solution.
Secondly, you also need to estimate your usage. If on
a one off trip also, you intend to use the phone extensively
you may need to re-evaluate your decision. The difference
in cost per minute between buying and renting the satellite
phones can be quite large. If you have high usage it
may actually be more beneficial for you to buy the phone
rather than keep paying rental fees.
Thirdly, cost can be another factor to determine whether
you want to buy or rent a satellite phone. Buying a satellite
phone and airtime is an expensive affair. Renting is
much cheaper in the short term. Also, rates of satellite
phones and airtime charges are decreasing by the day.
Some people may prefer to play the waiting game and go
rental instead of buying.
Buying a satellite phone can put you back by about a
$1000. Add to that the cost of buying extra batteries,
a charger, a carry case and an extra antenna and you
are looking at anything from $2000 - $2500. Renting a
satellite phone on the other hand will cost you barely
$30-$50 / week. On the other hand, most satellite phone
rental companies require you to rent the phone for at
least a week. Also, they count the rent period as starting
from the day the phone is shipped to you to the day they
receive it back. Lastly, prepaid airtime on a rented
phone can cost almost double the cost of getting a good
plan for your own phone.
So, whether you decide to buy a satellite phone or rent
one is dependent on several factors and only you can
decide which option is best for you!
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