Originally Posted by BlueEngineer

I'll have to see if I can dig up where they came from.

gfunkdave is correct that the antennas on phones have an 360 degree antenna. I found when using Thuraya/Inmarsat that pointing the antenna in the direction of the satellite (aka not blocking the satellite with a tree or my body) the connections were higher quality. For Inmarsat, the three satellites are essentially over the Galapagos, Congo, and Papua New Guinea. Example Map: https://www.groundcontrol.com/images...nmarsat_02.jpg

I can't speak if the newer Iridium phones (or the new NEXT satellites) have better audio quality, but the Iridium 9505A's I used sounded like talking over a tin can/string network when compared to the the Inmarsat/Thuraya phone connections.

Originally Posted by Need

Not sure if you know that InReach also has freedom plan that allows you to send SMS messages. You can regularly txt your friends/relatives in the middle of nowhere. Also they could track your location (if you allow them) anytime. Unless you really need to "talk" to people, this is a cheaper and more convenient option to communicate with the outside world I think.