Cell Phone Satellite Service

In our modern world there are many types of modern day communication and that includes both cell phones, satellite phones, and the combination cell phone satellite services. 

Cell phones work throughout North America, Japan, Europe, and China.  The biggest challenges are that different areas of the world use different cell phone standards.  For example in Europe GSM 900 is the standard but in the US it is part analogue and part digital, and Japan uses PDC. 

If that’s not enough there are all kinds of confusion in plans within the same country.  And then there are the problems with voice mail and paging.  There are also all kinds of options when it comes to phones. – different sizes, different shapes, and different accessories.

Four visitors looking for cellular service in China and Europe typically cost around $50 for the first week and slightly less there after.  You would either need to have a GSM phone and you will need to rent a SIM card.  Your regular plan should have a service for rerouting your GSM calls once you activate it in the country you are visiting.

If that all sounds confusing and/or expensive then why not consider a satellite phone.  You can buy or rent a satellite phone and you can choose between regional and global coverage.  So if you are going to be traveling to many different countries you should consider the global coverage.

So what does a satellite phone offer you ?  Well it’s very similar to cellular coverage but its better and there are no dead spots, no dropped calls, and when you are exploring those remote areas out in the wilderness you can still communicate with friends and family and should there be an emergency you can get help too.

Satellite communication involves low orbiting satellites the orbit the earth.  Vendors like Telital, Qualcomm, and Ericcson are providing both terminals and handsets.  These phones work in two different modes.

As a mobile cellular phone it will look for a service from one of the land based networks that other cellular phones use.  Then if cellular service isn’t available it will bounce you over to satellite service.  His can be very convenient because you need only one phone to cover all of your communication needs. 

This is common practice within China and Japan.  It’s called the public switched telephone network or PSTN.  It is compatible with several services and several technologies.  It overcomes compatibility problems that have typically been an issue.

The rapid changes in technology is making it harder to look at long term solutions but it always helps to have an idea of where we’ve been and where we are going and cell phone satellite services are certainly going to become more common in the next few years.

After all it’s a win-win situation for everyone.  And the more it becomes available and used the more affordable it will become.  Keep your options open and remember that cell phone satellite service is certainly one of those options.