Travel Technology - Will I ever use my new Iridium phone?

I kind of hope I won't need it, except maybe for a test call or two. I got it to have as backup during a two week drive in a rented 4wd car from Cairns to Darwin, across the top end of Australia. It will also be useful to have on our winter jaunts to the California/Nevada/Arizona deserts, where there are plenty of places that a cellphone shows no bars at all.

The latest model, the Motorola 9505a is smaller than previous units. It's about the size of a home wireless phone, albeit an inch thicker, and there is also the foldout antenna. So even with all the chargers and plugs for everywhere in the world, it doesn't take up TOO much space.

In theory, it ought to work while flying the Pacific but I guess I am not going to try that, as it's currently a no-no.

The phone and accessories cost about $1400. One year's service, including 500 minutes outgoing (incoming is charged to the caller) is $600. Extra minutes are $1.29. The coverage map is just a picture of the globe, including both the North and South poles.

You can also use it in the barren tundra of Tokyo where your GSM will get no bars...

You can also use it in the barren tundra of Tokyo where your GSM will get no bars...

Maybe your GSM, but mine gets perfect signal in Tokyo... Technology has evolved in the past 3 or 4 years when it comes to true world phones.

Maybe your GSM, but mine gets perfect signal in Tokyo...

Sorry - I didn't mean to take the thread down this route. I just wanted to point out that the Iridium phone might be good in some places that aren't at all remote or unpopulated and haven't just been struck by disaster - even though, I am sure the OP had those scenarios in mind when he shelled out the money for this expensive device.

I am aware that some non-Japanese carriers can finally offer their customers a phone that will roam in Japan (although I understand that those devices won't be using GSM networks in Japan - and you won't get far in Japan with a GSM only phone). Now... I'll stop taking this OT, because my limited understanding of UMTS, GSM, WCDMA and other telecom acronyms will soon become apparent.

The coverage map is just a picture of the globe, including both the North and South poles.
Heh.

The coverage map is just a picture of the globe, including both the North and South poles.

If only it were that easy, no coverage (as in coverage is blocked) in Poland, Sri Lanka and North Korea. Hungary used to be on the list, not sure if it still is.

This also means that if you are close to one of these countries you may not be able to make a call.

The phone and accessories cost about $1400. One year's service, including 500 minutes outgoing (incoming is charged to the caller) is $600. Extra minutes are $1.29.

Interesting to know the actual prices. One "benefit" of AMEX platinum is the ability to rent one of these phones for $15/day and pay $3/minute for calls. So if you've owned the phone for half a year, you're already better off having bought it...

I wonder about the blocked countries. I'm not surprised these phones are illegal in places like North Korea, but how do they actually jam them?

I wonder about the blocked countries. I'm not surprised these phones are illegal in places like North Korea, but how do they actually jam them?

Me too. Do tell. Is it with 'laser beams?' [/Dr Evil]

:D

Interesting to know the actual prices. One "benefit" of AMEX platinum is the ability to rent one of these phones for $15/day and pay $3/minute for calls. So if you've owned the phone for half a year, you're already better off having bought it...
No, if he has used the phone for half a year, then he's better off. So far he's planning to use it for two weeks = $210 in rental fees.

The equipment is just way too expensive on these things. If they could cut the prices down by 2/3rds they'd be selling a lot more and making up the difference in airtime, if you ask me.

Interesting to know the actual prices. One "benefit" of AMEX platinum is the ability to rent one of these phones for $15/day and pay $3/minute for calls. So if you've owned the phone for half a year, you're already better off having bought it...



Lol... typical Amex ripoff. Most rental places will rent them for $9 a day with $1.99/min calls :D

This site claims that the Department of State is responsible for the blocking of Iridium service in Hungary, Poland, North Korea, and North Sri Lanka.

http://www.bluecosmo.com/support/iridium_faq.php

This site says it's because they Iridium hasn't gotten a license from the countries in question:

http://www.onedayhikes.com/TravelFeatures.asp?TravelFeaturesId=31

Lol... typical Amex ripoff. Most rental places will rent them for $9 a day with $1.99/min calls :D
If you don't mind carrying around one of the bigger models, you can get it for as low as $5 / day (at the weekly rate) with rates of $1.35.

I didn't know that Iridium was back. Interesting!

I didn't know that Iridium was back. Interesting!

They were never really gone. I got my kit (phone/pager) when they launched, during the bankruptcy my service provider was gone, but I could make free calls for several months :D

where there are plenty of places that a cellphone shows no bars at all.


Finally a phone that shows where the bars are! One never knows when one may need a drink! :o

My understanding is that they are banned from terminating calls to North Korea, Cuba, and one or two other places, and possibly SELLING the phone in some other countries, but if you get into the country with the phone, you can still originate a call.

The list of blocked countries is actually just North Korea and Cuba now. Poland was opened up last year (there was a spectrum coordination issue with their military) and Hungary's been open for a few years. Northern Sri Lanka has been open since the tsunami last year.

So, aside from those two countries where we don't allow calls to originate, you won't find a spot on the globe where the phone won't work (unless you're indoors....but that's a whole different issue. :eek: )

(full disclosure: Iridium signs my paychecks)

Tim

They were never really gone. I got my kit (phone/pager) when they launched, during the bankruptcy my service provider was gone, but I could make free calls for several months :D

Interesting: Motorola reported that it was abandoning the system. I am guessing they sold if off to someone else.

Interesting: Motorola reported that it was abandoning the system. I am guessing they sold if off to someone else.

I'm sure Iridium Tim can correct me if I am wrong, but there were too many DoD users on the network to completely kill it off. Even now it would seem like the DoD is the one that is forking over the most $$$ to keep it alive.

I'm sure Iridium Tim can correct me if I am wrong, but there were too many DoD users on the network to completely kill it off. Even now it would seem like the DoD is the one that is forking over the most $$$ to keep it alive.

You're correct. DoD has provided a bumper crop of customers for Iridium, especially in the last 3-4 years.

Personally, I'm more concerned about Connexion by Boeing getting killed than Iridium. :o Why can't DoD be a bigger customer of that too? :D

I'm sure Iridium Tim can correct me if I am wrong, but there were too many DoD users on the network to completely kill it off. Even now it would seem like the DoD is the one that is forking over the most $$$ to keep it alive.


That makes a lot of sense. I thought that the concept was great. If they could only make those phones smaller--which they will do at some stage--then Iridium could be come a real force in the mobile phone market!

That makes a lot of sense. I thought that the concept was great. If they could only make those phones smaller--which they will do at some stage--then Iridium could be come a real force in the mobile phone market!

Iridium has one major problem IMHO; its data capabilities are terrible, they have improved a little in the past, but are still nowhere near what other technologies (like regional BGAN) can offer.

I'm sure there will be some new technology in the future, but I'm not sure it'll be satellite. Satellite is just far too expensive. Iridium spent more putting up their birds than most GSM operators spend putting up towers for an entire country. It will always be a niche market. Remember that Iridium was launched during the dotcom era, where these things made much more "sense".

Interesting: Motorola reported that it was abandoning the system. I am guessing they sold if off to someone else.

It's been quite some time, but IIRC, the system was bought out of bankruptcy for $35m with the promise of an annual US government DoD contract for $30m to help them.

It's hard to make an economic case for OWNING an Iridium phone just for periodic vacation use, but in my case I'm fulfilling a promise I made long ago to the folks at Motorola. My company made a fair amount of money selling protocol test gear to the Iridium development effort and I said that when it went commercial, I'd buy one. It took a little longer than expected, but I finally did.

Iridium has one major problem IMHO; its data capabilities are terrible, they have improved a little in the past, but are still nowhere near what other technologies (like regional BGAN) can offer.

Indeed, the fundamental technology was not nearly advanced enough to allow high speed data at the time Iridium was created, and to add that capability would undoubtedly require redoing the "base" stations which I cannot imagine is cost-effective for the current operator. I guess they could shoot up better systems as the old satellites decayed, but that would take a LONG time.

Hughes is running the old DirectTV satellite internet service now and that offers high bandwidth, but it's to and from geosynchronous satellites, so delay is obviously quite noticeable at 1/2 second round trip.

oops. Should have read the 2nd page of the thread.

Iridium's survival is due to two key factors. First is obviously the price that was paid for the company out of bankruptcy. It was amazingly cheap, especially when you consider that it bought 66 satellites in adddition to all the other assets. The second factor was the DOD contract. The DOD realized early on that a global satellite system with a handheld form factor was very, very attractive to them - especially if they didn't have to build it themselves. I'm not sure to what extent the DOD intervened in the bankruptcy proceedings (long before my time) but I have no doubt that they made their interests known to key parties. While the DOD remains our largest single customer, the DOD portion of the business is substantially less than 50% of our total business.

The markets we currently thrive in are those that were never really envisioned by the original Iridium. Where the original Iridium went in search of the globetrotting executive who had to travel off the grid, the new Iridium makes the majority of its revenues in far less sexy vertical markets like shipping, oil and gas, and mining. We've been profitable for the last couple of years and have a lot of life left in us.

For casual users, the price of the service is much more affordable now too. Rentals are commonly available and price per minute is about the same as international GSM roaming. Not bad if you're going somewhere where there are no other options available - but probably not an everyday purchase for most folks.

As for data speed, we're always going to be limited by the design of the system which is about 12-14 years old at this point. We can make modest changes here and there, but getting to BGAN or Connexion speeds is going to be impossible. For our customers, low-speed data works just fine for their applications/budget. No need for a multi-megabyte pipe if you're only sending six position reports a day.

At the same time, Connexion has fallen completely flat for several reasons (cost, aviation fuel prices, size of the unit) and Boeing is going to take a billion-plus rightdown on that investment. BGAN (by Inmarsat) was also enormously expensive and is selling very, very slowly. Inmarsat isn't sweating quite yet, but you don't see huge smiles on their execs. While the gee-whiz factor for both the products is high, if the demand in the marketplace doesn't show up, a losing bet in our industry can mean several billion dollars shot.

Tim

It seems to me that either (a) Motorola didn't do its original market research well, or (b) the research was accurate at the time, but technology mitigated the need for the product. It doesn't surprise me that Iridium has a niche in the military market.

I'd like to learn more about the company. I assume it's not public, but I will search the website. If anyone has any useful links and you're willing to PM me, great!

It seems to me that either (a) Motorola didn't do its original market research well, or (b) the research was accurate at the time, but technology mitigated the need for the product.

Mostly (a) and a little bit of (b) as they did a poor job of forseeing how quickly GSM would grow. With regard to (a), many have argued that the research that was done (which was a huge amount) was really just done to justify the business case. Motorola had already committed themselves and invested funds in the project but they needed the market research in order to get funding from outside investors (to reduce their own exposure). The market research was just a means to an end....(plaintiff's lawyers continue to fight this battle with Motorola, years after Motorola's involvement in Iridium had come to an end)

Tim

I think that at the time Iridium was born the whole world was in a little bit of a frenzy about new technologies, stuff was sprouting up all over the place that didn't have much of a future, but it didn't stop most of them from pushing ahead.

Even though the system is pretty outdated it is still a marvel of technology.

In other news: I just saw that Globalstar is launching new satellites, they must really be doing well to afford this...

I just saw that Globalstar is launching new satellites, they must really be doing well to afford this...

:) No Comment.

Our industry has more drama than soap operas. Of course, no one but industry insiders really cares...It explains why my wife glazes over when I try to explain it to her.

I would say that one of the main reasons Motorola started Iridium was to preserve jobs for the many employees who worked in the Defense division as defense contracts wound down after the fall of the U.S.S.R.

Motorola limited their liability by not only making Iridium a separate corporation but also by finding vast amounts of investment from outsiders, including a great many foreign governments (for whom things such as ground station locations were bargaining chips).

Lol... typical Amex ripoff. Most rental places will rent them for $9 a day with $1.99/min calls :D

yeah, typical amex ripoff is right.

Or, one could rent a globalstar phone for 35$ a week, and 1.00$ a minute. No minimums,

depends on where one goes, but I find this a good option - I even bought the phone!

I'm sure Iridium Tim can correct me if I am wrong, but there were too many DoD users on the network to completely kill it off. Even now it would seem like the DoD is the one that is forking over the most $$$ to keep it alive.


yes, the deal took place I believe in 2002 or 2003. The company that now RUNS the service, paid 25MM in bankruptcy, and immediatly had a 60-70MM DOD and SD contract for four years. Then, they were free to continue to run and deliver service to the other potential customers.

The only carried over liabilty was the REQUIREMENT to splash the satellites, in the event that they were not going to continue to make the network viable or run it. Don't know what the cost of that would be.

The only carried over liabilty was the REQUIREMENT to splash the satellites, in the event that they were not going to continue to make the network viable or run it. Don't know what the cost of that would be.
Not very much, I wouldn't think - you'd just instruct them to cease station-keeping and use remaining maneuvering fuel to dive down toward the atmosphere.