Packing for your long-awaited trip, darling? Of course – so excited to explore and live your dream vacation, absolutely lovely. But, apart from a bunch of clothes, sandals, hats, and repellents… have you ever thought about including a device like a satellite phone in your luggage? Yeah… we thought so. But it’s time to get surprised and learn why you might like to reconsider it as your loyal companion all along the way.
What exactly is the secret with these? Well, satellite phones are able to provide data communication where mobile signal seems to be a myth, which means that, as the name suggests, they communicate with satellites, thus creating a powerful and useful connection. These devices are supplied with a signal from space and are used mainly outdoors since they need to be directed towards the sky. So, there’s no dependence on numerous towers, receivers and other objects. Whether you’re sailing, being on top of some of the world’s highest mountains, or on one of the wild secluded beaches, you absolutely don’t have to worry about your connection with the rest of the world.
Good to know at the beginning…
Img source: youtube.com
Currently, our beautiful planet and almost all destinations you might decide to travel to are covered by three main systems supporting satellite communication.
The first is Inmarsat, which originated from the idea of a military satellite network of America. However, this is definitely not its only purpose, but work has been done to adapt the system to commercial implementation, as well. Due to the price, it’s used mainly for data flow since it enables high speeds.
It’s followed by Iridium, which is considered to be the only real operator for providing voice communication everywhere on the globe and around the world. Iridium is definitely a leader in this world, which can be noticed by the huge number of different variants available on AmericanSatellite.us, since you can literally choose from dozens of models characterized by diverse features.
You’ll also find slightly fewer models in the offer for Thuraya, an Australian and East Pacific service that covers a huge part of the planet, leaving perhaps only a quarter uncovered.
And now, knowing this, should we have a look at a few advantages of packing this baby in your cases? Here it goes.
Emergency situations
Emergencies happen even in absolute civilization and in a modern, urban environment, so not to even mention journeys that entice with their adventurous character. When we talk about situations of this type, what first comes to our mind are innumerable dangerous situations that theoretically might represent quite a problem on our way.
A bite or attack by a wild animal, a health problem, or any other incident of a similar kind entails the need for emergency contact. This is greatly complicated if you seem to be in an environment where the Internet is a non-existing factor, as well as making a proper call via your smartphone. It often happens that weather disasters have their share in similar circumstances and then.. it’s absolutely impossible to catch the signal in all that chaos.
Since there’s usually no electricity in such places, as well as chargers or any type of device that would facilitate our reception and communication, relying on this type of device seems to be the most decent option for rescue. Most satphones have a special SOS command that would easily draw the attention of emergency services in the blink of an eye, as well as of firefighters, police, or anyone who needs to be there.
GPS feature
Img source: iridium.com
We all know how important GPS has become for our daily routine, since we can always count on its help in finding our way to unknown places or so. Today we’re lucky enough to always have such devices at our fingertips and they seem to be pretty affordable, both as a feature of our smartphones and as a special unit.
However, things often get complicated when we find ourselves in a situation where the mobile phone doesn’t receive the signal as well as it should – or doesn’t get it at all. It’s a well-known scenario on trips and, you can guess, especially on those that include hiking, wildlife tours and other adventurous endeavors. Whether you’re going on your own or you’re having a company, you should never rule out the possibility of getting lost or wandering off, as that happens quite often in such situations.
In such cases, it’s most recommendable to deal with prevention above all – and the satphone is of key importance here, since it has a GPS feature that can locate you quickly and safely wherever you are and as long as your device is functional. It will be enough to make sure that this option is activated – much easier to find you in case you can’t really determine where you are or where you need to go.
Communication with your loved ones
To be honest, It’s quite simple when you’re walking down the streets of London, New York, Tokyo, or any other world-famous place or city. Logically, such locations are densely populated and you can always rely on a solid signal and the Wi-Fi around each and every corner. However, what will you do if you’re planning a trip to any other point on the globe where this option is a luxury and almost non-existent?
The first thing that certainly comes to mind is communication with your beloved ones. You can already imagine them getting in a panic while trying to get you, waiting for you to pick up the phone and praying that you manage to break through to any signal source at least for a moment.
If you rely on a smartphone, then you might indeed have some concerns regarding this. However, when being informed in time and upon deciding to give the satphone a chance, you’re free to cross out this trouble from your list of potential problems.
This device won’t allow you to be left without contact with family, friends, or associates since it’s basically designed in such a way that you can dial a well-known number at any time (with the previous few steps to apply) and hear the voice of a loved one. No annoyance, no bursting with a bunch of cursing words and regretting the day when you have decided to make the trip. And, above all, your loved ones will be much calmer knowing that they can speak to you whenever they want, regardless of signal coverage.
Simplicity of use
Img source: digitaltrends.com
And in the end… You know how to use your smartphone? Lovely, cause that means you won’t have any problems when it comes to satellite ones either. There are absolutely no special complications in terms of buttons, commands and usage – all this has already been seen so far and shouldn’t represent a problem.
Of course, even if you have any dilemmas, with these gadgets, you get some kind of an instruction guide or a manual, just like you would get with any appliance, tool and so on. It’s up to you to make sure you understand everything – after all, even if those first steps don’t seem to go smoothly, you can always go back and read about it again. These mini-guides contain all the most crucial information regarding charging, the main commands and are basically the main source of information.
There are no special tricks or philosophy – your only concern is to simply remember how pagers and old models of devices were functioning in older times. The only thing you may have to accept is the unusual design, bulky structure and size of the device, but it’s easy to get used to these circumstances more than quickly.
