Buying Satphone & service in USA

[Johnboy2004]

hello can anyone give me info on buying a sat phone and service in the usa?
what are the pro's and cons?

also isnt it cheaper to be billed in USD?

thanks

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[Talulah]

You might get a better response on the liveaboard forum. I suspect some of them will know all the pro's & con's.

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[zefender]

Not sure whether you mean buying from the US or when in the US.

First decision is what system are you going to buy - Iridium, Thuraya etc
Second: Are you going to use it for voice or voice and data?
Then where to buy from.
ebay (US) has quite a lot on offer. If you want data, then avoid old Motorola 9500 - many don't have firmware to handle data but are cheap but bulky 'bricks for voice. I bought one from ebay and it was fine. They've got some pretty good prices at the moment. But check UK dealers too for comparison and remember to add on the duty and the freight cost when buying from the US.

Then, chose the airtime reseller - you can go pay as go or contract.
As far as I know, all rates are set in $US wherever you buy.

...hope this helps a bit

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[iangrant]

http://www.francetelecom-mobilesat.com/877_3

http://www.francetelecom-mobilesat.com/67_3

No contract - billed air time is to credit card in US dollars

is my set up - the email software is much better for sat than standard M.soft

Ian

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[iangrant]

Oh BTW
You could talk to Peter Ren http://www.mcomnet.co.uk/

Ian


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[Johnboy2004]

only need satfone for voice only
was considering thuraya or globalstar



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[Johnboy2004]

i mean buying a satphone from the usa , as there cheaper there
im based in dublin

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[Johnboy2004]

i mean buying from the usa as the satphones are usually cheaper there
im based in dublin

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[Johnboy2004]

hi how do you order from them? online??
also do they sell phones too...

are they cheaper than buying locally in the uk?

thanks

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[iangrant]

give the guy a ring - they are really helpful - sorted out my email prog and address straight away..

Ian

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