10. Satellite phones purchase/rental sites

1. http://www.outfittersatellite.com/

Outfittersatellite is one of the best providers of satellite phones (purchase new/used phones and rental). Satellite phones of various manufacturers like Inmarsat, Iridium, Thuraya are made available at lowest prices and with 24/7 tech support to its customers. They also develop customized hard-cased satellite and cellular communications packages.

The models available for purchase/rental are

• Iridium 9555
• Iridium 9505A
• Thuraya SG-2520
• Thuraya XT

2. http://www.satphonestore.com/

Satphonestore provides sales, installation, integration and repair services to the customers located around the world in industries including military, disaster relief, travel, tourism etc.

Satphonestore offers the following satellite phones for purchase/renting

• Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro
• Iridium 9555
• Iridium 9505/9505A

The main advantages of renting a phone from Satphonestore are

• Rental charges less than $6 per day
• 3 day grace period for rental returns
• No roaming/long distance charges
• Free inbound SMS

3. http://www.telestial.com/satellite_phones.php

Telestial provides satellite phone purchase as well as rent option to the customer. They sell Inmarsat and Iridium satellite models like

• Inmarsat iSatPhone Pro
• Iridium 9555 Satellite Phone
• Iridium 9505A Satellite Phone

The models given above are also available on a rental basis costing as low as $3.99 per day and other such plans like weekly rental plan are available, also the customers are assured 24/7 technical support in case of any queries/clarifications. Also free incoming email and text messages are made available on all iridium satellite phone rentals.

11.Conclusion

Satellite phones are the ultimate in providing global coverage. But there are trade-offs too. i.e, Satellite phones are bulkier than regular cell phones, and while in theory their coverage might be close to universal, they usually don't work inside buildings or anywhere that has an obscured view of the sky.

Also, satellite phones are not as popular as the cellular phones probably because of the high cost of the satellite phone. Research is going on in order to decrease call cost so that satellite phone becomes a common man phone.

And although satellite phones are very famous in European countries, it is not popular in the Asian countries and is considered illegal if used without proper permission and authorization.

12. References

1. http://www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-satellite-telephones

2. http://www.explorersatellite.com/satellite_phones.htm

3. http://www.highspeedsat.com/satellite-phone.htm

4. http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/satellite/telephones/cell_satellite.html