Outfitter Satellite rents and sells state-of-the-art satellite phones that operate on four major satellite networks, covering various regions of the globe. All our rental equipment is tested by a qualified technician before it is sent to you. Our sales and technical staff can help you select the best phone for your application. After that, it is up to you to:
1. Understand the real capabilities of your equipment
2. Follow the operating instructions.

Iridium: What should you expect?

UNDERSTANDING IRIDIUM: Iridium provides voice, SMS, and data service over the entire globe, including the polar caps, with the exception of a few countries that have requested Iridium block service, e.g. North Korea. Iridium operates a large number of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites spanning the globe in various polar orbits. Your Iridium phone uses L-band frequencies so you must be in direct line of sight with an Iridium satellite in order make a call. The ideal situation is to be on flat ground surrounded by no obstructions blocking more than 15 degrees of elevation above the horizon. Mountains, trees, buildings or other obstructions may block some or all of the satellites causing brief periods without service. If there is an area nearby that is less obstructed, you may find it more effective to make Iridium calls from that location. When you call a public switched telephone number (PSTN), your call is routed from satellite to satellite until it reaches the Iridium gateway in Arizona. From there it is routed to the final PSTN number. If during your call, the satellite moves behind an obstruction such as a mountain peak, your call can be passed to a different satellite, but often the call is unexpectedly terminated. Dropped calls can be frustrating, but are inherent to the Iridium service, and you as an Iridium user accept this when you rent or purchase Iridium service. Fortunately, the Iridium satellites are always moving, so another satellite should be along in a short time. Wait until your phone's signal strength indicator shows at least 3 bars of signal strength and dial again. Iridium phones are capable of making calls in most weather conditions, though electromagnetic interference from powerful transmitters in the vicinity may cause problems. Iridium uses aggressive voice compression so Iridium voice quality is only fair. If you hope to make long duration or high sound quality calls, Iridium is not the right choice. If you need truly global voice communication for occasional brief calls, Iridium is a correct choice.

IRIDIUM DATA SERVICES: Iridium usually is not the best choice for customers intending to transmit large amounts of data. It only offers a 2400 bps data rate, which corresponds to about 1 MegaByte (MB) an hour. This means Iridium is suitable for light data applications such as text-based email or telemetry but should not be your first choice for data-intensive applications such as transmitting digital photos. Outfitter Satellite offers the SkyFile email service with easy to use filtering, excellent compression, and "Crash & Recovery". That last feature lets you transmit even large email attachments despite call drops during the internet session. SkyFile simply prompts you to make another call and then automatically continues your internet session where you left off. Though SkyFile makes it possible to transmit large files, Iridium is not the most economical and certainly not the fastest satellite network. If your application is data intensive, please consider our Inmarsat terminals, which offer both high speed and better economy per MB transmitted.

Thuraya: What should you expect?

UNDERSTANDING Thuraya: Thuraya is a regional satellite network that uses a geosynchronous satellite which is a much higher orbit (about 22,000 miles) than the LEO satellites used by Iridium or Globalstar. One result of this is that Thuraya voice communications have a noticeable time delay. Thuraya coverage is available in Europe, the Mediterranean, much of Africa, the Middle East, and parts of the Indian subcontinent (see coverage map). Thuraya offers voice, 9600 bps data, and SMS. Thuraya phones are considerably smaller than the Iridium 9505A and certain models incorporate GSM cellular capability. Thuraya is geosynchronous satellite (ie the satellite is in a stationary position in the sky above you) so if you do not move around, you should be able to maintain the same line of sight to the satellite from beginning to end of a call. Unexpected call drops still can occur. If you have problems, try to avoid electromagnetic interference from other powerful radio antennas in the vicinity. The customer must also take care to make sure that he or she understands whether the phone is operating in Thuraya-mode or GSM-mode, as indicated on the LCD screen. The customer is warned that GSM cellular mode in certain third world countries is often more expensive that Thuraya "satellite" mode.

THURAYA DATA SERVICES: Thuraya offers a 9600 bps data rate, which corresponds to about 4 MegaBytes (MB) an hour. This means Thuraya is very suitable for light to moderate data applications such as email or web browing. Outfitter Satellite offers SkyFile email and fax software for use with Thuraya. If your application is extremely data intensive, e.g. transmitting large files such as video clips, an Inmarsat terminal, may be a better choice than a handheld Thuraya phone.

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