Will It Be Possible For Me To Obtain A Pre Paid Card With My Satellite Mobile Phone?

 

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of SatellitePhoneSales.com.au,  Australia’s number one online satellite communications store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “Can I get a prepaid card for my satellite phone rather than entering into a contract?”

I will do my best to steer you in the right direction with this question but please be aware things change in this ever-changing world.

At the time of writing the two satellite networks available in Australia are Thuraya and Iridium.

Up until July Last year it was possible inside Australia to get a Thuraya phone and also buy a pre paid time-limited card.. Thuraya have since signed an exclusive deal with Optus which means you can only buy a Thuraya handset through an Optus authorised satellite dealer.

We consider this an excellent shame since Thuraya had carved themselves an increasing industry simply by supplying an excellent affordable handset.. For anyone people who simply wanted something for emergencies or even for the unplanned home conversation it was simply the most effective option..

At the moment Optus do not offer a prepaid option with their Thuraya handsets.

For consumers who have purchased them in Australia prior to July 2009, however, purchasing top-up to their already existing prepaid cards is no problem.

This leaves the Iridium network. Well, the answer is, “Yes, you can buy prepaid with an Iridium phone.Yet it comes with numerous limitations..

First, currently in Australia the only prepaid options Iridium offer are a two-month 80mins prepaid on a “use it or lose it” basis. So if you do not use your own credits in that 2 months you will lose them..

Iridium then give you just one month’s grace to top up  that card. If you don’t, you will lose your card and phone number and have to start again.

The second option is a twelve-month time card with 500mins on it on the same “use it or lose it” basis.

The reality is that it costs so much to put each satellite into orbit and to run them that it’s not really financial viable for these companies to sell prepaid for their services.

Until we can discuss to change this, from the time of writing these were the only options available..

But watch this space..

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones and how to find the plan that’s best for you, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.SatellitePhoneSales.com.au or call us on 1300 197 600.