How to evaluate satellite phones/plans?

March 3, 2021 1:31 PM

I'm investigating getting a satellite phone for emergencies but am a little overwhelmed by the options.

We have a cabin in Vermont that's outside cell coverage. Landline is available but unreliable and expensive (we had one and got rid of it because it seemed to never be up).

I started investigating satellite phones but am having a hard time comparing because there are 3 major providers (Iridium, Inmarsat, Globalstar) who all price their plans differently. I really just want the lowest cost plan that would let someone make and receive voice calls in an emergency (and maybe send texts), probably averaging 30 minutes a year.

I found one company that seems to be selling Inmarsat plans at $35/month. Is that all I need if I had the phone? Are there other charges on Inmarsat's side? Is that the best deal out there?

posted by justkevin to Technology (12 answers total)

Have you looked at Starlink? Elon Musk is involved but my impression was they were offering very attractive speeds and prices compared to previous providers. Also, I looked into this previously and there were some hiking beacons that allowed limited two-way messaging for somewhat less than a satphone plan.
posted by wnissen at 3:27 PM on March 3, 2021

We have a cabin too and because it was possible we had a landline installed. In our area landline was far cheaper than sat phone. Why was the landline not working? What kind of emergencies are we talking about? The beacon type of emergency mentioned above, or the let’s get so and so to bring us more milk when they visit - type of emergency?
posted by miles1972 at 4:01 PM on March 3, 2021

It’s $12/month for an emergency satellite texting plan on the sort of hiking beacons mentioned by the posters above.
posted by A Blue Moon at 4:29 PM on March 3, 2021

I recall when looking a while ago that Iridium Go was the best overall price. That Inmarsat may assume owning a specialized phone/base station, which could be quite pricey, may need a specialized antenna. Things may have changed but really had the impression that Inmarsat was by far the most expensive by an order of magnitude.

Remember none of these do not work inside and need a reasonable line of sight to the sats. Check your angles with care.
posted by sammyo at 6:03 PM on March 3, 2021

Response by poster: Starlink does not appear to be available at our location.

The landline just kept being down. From this article my understanding is that they aren't cost effective for the companies to maintain, so they don't. The only provider in the area charges $35/month.

An example emergency would be the car won't start. Another would be there's a storm and the power got knocked out.
posted by justkevin at 6:13 PM on March 3, 2021

Friends used to have some sort of satellite phone added on to their Verizon family plan. I don't know what it cost them but they felt it was pretty reasonable. I do recall it included 45 minutes of calls per month, occasionally they would call me when they were out of cell range just to feel they were getting their moneys worth out of it.
posted by yohko at 9:20 PM on March 3, 2021

Here is a summary from this week about the current state of Musk's StarLink. They are planning to deliver 300mbits/second globally by the end of the year.
posted by rongorongo at 9:33 PM on March 3, 2021

Ugh, that article is not hopeful. I'm sorry.

It seems that you have already found the best deal I can find, and you are going to have to pay $600 for the phone. More ugh, not cheap.
posted by miles1972 at 10:05 PM on March 3, 2021

I've been using a ZOLEO satellite communicator.

It's a relatively new device

It pairs with your cell phone and can send and receive texts.
You get a dedicated phone number and it uses the Iridium satellite network.
It's very easy to use and is transparent to the recipient
It's just like texting using your cell phone.
It costs about $200 and requires a monthly plan which can be suspended when not required.
An unlimited plan is about $50 per month.

I found it to work very well.
And if both parties use their free app , message length can be 1000 characters .
I was using it this summer and was pleased with it.
The cost was much lower than a sat phone

Here's review from Outdoor gear lab
posted by yyz at 7:55 AM on March 4, 2021

If you have internet at the cabin and only need your phone to work in and around the cabin, AND you are perhaps looking to switch cell service providers, I would recommend Republic Wireless. You buy a phone from them (most of the popular phones are available), then pay around $20/month. They are so cheap because they work in a paradigm where the phone automatically switches to using wireless internet when available, saving the cell network charges.

I live in the mountains where there is no cell signal at all, and I can use my phone for calls, texts, etc. seamlessly, as long as I'm within range of my router (or another network that is either open or you have used previously, like at stores or a neighbor's house). I would recommend this company for anyone, but especially those who live in areas with no cell coverage. In fact, I even found it easy to use in Europe because open wifi is everywhere. I'd just go to a store or restaurant, ask them for the password, then make calls or use the Uber app. Easier and cheaper than replacing the sim card or buying a burner phone for the trip!
posted by Don_K at 8:33 AM on March 4, 2021

Response by poster: Zoleo looks interesting and seems to have a cheaper plan at $20/month. The main issue is that some emergencies would be harder to solve with just text messages, but it's helpful to have something else to compare to.
posted by justkevin at 1:50 PM on March 4, 2021

May not be what you are after - but here is an unboxing demo of Starlink. Note that the service is advertised as being geo-fenced. Comments in the video seem to have a consensus that the fence size if probably 50-100 miles in diameter. They got a speed of up to 150Mbps.
posted by rongorongo at 12:21 PM on March 5, 2021