Buyer's Guide

A satellite phone or terminal has become necessary gear if you work or play in the world’s remotest places. Some satphones perform well in mountainous terrain. Some are more economical. Some can be used for light email use but web browsing or video. This Buyer’s Guide discusses the considerations that go into choosing the right phone.

(This page is focused on equipment. To get a SIM card or for Airtime Plan information, click here.)

Choosing a Satphone

Should I buy or rent the Satphone? If you have a short-term or one-time need for a satellite phone, renting it is usually the more economical choice. We offer satellite phone rentals with FREE 2-day delivery.* Surcharges apply for Overnight or Saturday Delivery or AK & HI addresses. We offer flexible airtime bundles and various rental accessories. Iridium phones can be rented for as little as one week.

Where will I use the Satphone? Iridium has global coverage and even works in mountainous areas. By comparison, Inmarsat equipment and service is often lower cost, but it doesn't have service in the polar regions so we recommend it mainly for applications between 50°N and 50°S latitude away from mountainous terrain. Thuraya offers regional coverage in parts of Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australia and Africa. Special equipment is also available if you intend to use the phone in a building, maritime application, or land vehicle.

Do I need fast internet access? If light email is sufficient, an Iridium or Inmarsat GSPS handset could work for you. Even though these phones have relatively slow 2.4 kbps data, special email compression software makes light email feasible (attachments under 100KB). If web browsing, heavy email usage or video applications are required, then you will need a fast satellite internet terminal (see below).

Comparison of Iridium 9575 Extreme to Inmarsat IsatPhone 2

Enterprise Communications for Groups of Workers

Iridium Push-to-Talk Communications: Organizations with groups of people working in remote locations have unique communications requirements. Iridium PTT (Push-to-Talk) is affordable for small or large organizations. Workers can communicate instantly with other from their group or the home office -- and do so with enhanced location awareness. Unlike terrestrial-based Land Mobile Radio talk groups, Iridium PTT talk groups cover vast areas. Talk group membership and boundaries can be managed on-the-fly through a secure website. Interoperability with most Land Mobile Radio systems is straightforward with iMatrix. For more information or to arrange a demonstration, click here.

Iridium Location Tracking: Global vehicle tracking of fleets of land vehicles and maritime vessels is increasingly necessary -- and now economical even for small organizations. SmallTrack is an economical Iridium-based global tracking system with two emergency SOS buttons that can be configured to operate as needed to automate worker security check-ins or emergency notifications. Entry/exist geofence notifications and over-speeding notifications are other useful applications of SmallTrack. A secure web portal shows the most current GPS position of your fleet and historical locations. An API allows you to integrate SmallTrack into your existing software. Customization is easy. To contact us for more information or a demonstration, click here.

Monitoring and Control of Remote Assets: Remote assets such as oil pipelines or fuel tanks located in rural or wilderness areas must be monitored. Sometimes commands need to be sent to the remote asset. Iridium SBD (Short Burst Data) is designed for these applications. Solar powered systems are available where conventional external power is unavailable. We can work with you to develop a custom application with API access to your existing software. A secure web portal can manage the information that is gathered and send commands to the remote asset. Inmarsat BGAN M2M is available for applications requiring faster data transfer. To discuss developing a customized M2M application, please contact us.

Comparison of Iridium Extreme PTT to ICOM IC-SAT100 push-to-talk satellite phone

Fast Internet Connections

Land-Portable Personal-Carry Inmarsat BGAN Terminals: The satellite systems discussed above offer relatively slow internet speeds. Fast or "broadband" internet speeds are needed for web browsing, secure VPN communications, heavy email usage with large attachments, and video applications. Outfitter Satellite offers a variety of choices from small portable Inmarsat BGAN terminals and vehicular or marine Iridium Certus terminals. Inmarsat BGAN currently offers the smallest land portable equipment for Standard IP internet access under 492 kbps or streaming up to 800 kbps. BGAN has affordable Tiered-usage Standard IP internet access with unlimited use during a calendar month on the top tier.

Vehicular Internet Terminals: Internet for land vehicles in motion can be achieved with both Iridium Certus and

Inmarsat BGAN

. Iridium Certus would be the best choice for those traveling in mountainous areas, and Iridium Certus terminals offer up to 700 kbps and 3 high-quality voice lines. Inmarsat BGAN has affordable Tiered-usage Standard IP internet access with unlimited use during a calendar month on the top tier.

Fly-Away & Drive-Away VSAT Kits: Inmarsat GX or Maverick VSAT offer very high performance internet speeds with unlimited usage during the service period.

Satellite Hotspots & BYOD SmartPhones

Small portable satellite hotspots are designed to let you make calls and send texts over satellite right from your iOS or Android smartphone. Limited email access or photo sharing are also possible using special Apps that reside on your smartphone. The Iridium GO! Hotspot weighs only 10.4 oz but offers global coverage and lets you make and receive calls, texts, and emails over your smartphone. It also has an SOS emergency button that can connect you to a GEOS Safety Response Operator. Unfortunately, if you want to send email, the slow 2.4 kbps data speed of the GO! requires special email compression software. The Thuraya SatSleeve+ hotspot provides regional coverage in Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australia and Africa. In addition to supporting satellite phone calls and texts through your smartphone, it also allows email and web access with internet access speeds up to 15 kbps (up) and 60 kbps (down).

Professional hunter Spook Spann talks about how he uses an Iridium GO! hotspot in the video below.