Most people rent Iridium satellite phones for a one-time need such as a huntingor vacationtrip. A satellite phone is especially relevant if you are traveling to a remote location like Alaska where cellular communication is unavailable. Sometimes, it can be critical to make a phone call because of a healthemergency. Usually anIridium 9555 handsetis the best choice. First, it is exceptionally easy to use. Also, rentals as short as 7 days are available with no airtime commitment. Some people need a more sophisticated product that can support email or web browsing. In this case, we recommend the EXPLORER 510 BGAN terminal.

Should you rent Iridium or Inmarsat BGAN equipment?

You should consider a variety of issues when selecting asatellite phone for internet applications. First, can your application be satisfied with relatively slow2.4 kbps internet access? As a rule, light email applications with attachments under 100KB in size are suitable for Iridium.

If you intend to make heavy use of the internet, such as web browsingor video applications, then choose abroadband system. Iridium Pilot is capable of 128 kbps. The Iridium Pilot is a marineterminal with a large external antenna. If you have a land portable application, we suggest that yourent an Inmarsat BGAN. Renting anEXPLORER 500Inmarsat BGAN terminal gives you data speeds up to464 kbpswhich is almost 200 times faster than an Iridium handheld or an Iridium GO! hotspot.

Realtime videoconferencing or broadcasting

Some BGAN terminals like theCobham EXPLORER 710are designed for broadcast video applications. For this reason, Outfitter Satellite rents and sells the EXPLORER 710 but the minimum rental for this product is 60 days. Our EXPLORER 710 rental supports Inmarsat High Definition Rate Streaming also known asHDR which typically achievesabout750 kbps. Also, if needed, two EXPLORER 710 terminals can be bonded together to achieve speeds as high as1.1 Mbps. Bonding is done through the video codec device not the EXPLORER 710.

Making phone calls and texting

If you primarily need to make phone calls or send texts, we recommend renting anIridiumor perhaps anInmarsat IsatPhone 2. We offer two Iridium products for short duration rentals, the Iridium 9555 satellite phone and theIridium GO! WiFi hotspot. We rent a variety of accessories including extra batteries, watertight Pelican transport cases, and solar panels that strap to your back pack or tent.

All of these products are light weight. They also offer 2.4 kbps data which is suitable for light email applications. The handheld satellite phones support internet access through smartphones, tablets, Macintosh and Windows laptops using an optional portable WiFi adapter called theOptimizer. The Iridium GO! supports smartphones and tablets at the current time.

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