Satellite Phone Rentals
|
Satellite phone rental services had better have been on your mind before you are standing on top of Mount Everest or in the rainforests of Brazil and wanting to talk to a long lost sister not seen in thirty years. There is no way a cell phone is going to work there. Just like the soldiers in the middle of the desert during a time of war can talk to people in Washington clearly, a teacher standing on top of Mount Everest with icicles covering a broad smile while talking to a third grade class in Pennsylvania can only happen because of well thought out details like getting a couple of satellite phone rentals before the ascent. These amazing icons of ultra telecommunication advancement are the pinnacle of go anywhere and still be heard technology. So why doesn't everybody have them?
It's like the story of the average guy looking at exotic sports cars in the showroom and asking how much they cost. The salesman smiles and tells the poor guy that if he has to ask that question he can't afford one. There is a reason why this article is talking about satellite phone rental services and not satellite phone retailers. These satellite telephones rent for about ten dollars a day, but if a person wants to have insurance for the phone in case of loss, which is another six dollars per day. It is highly advisable to buy the insurance because these phones are between one thousand and three thousand dollars brand new. FYI, more than likely there will be a large deductible with the rental agreement.
The calling rates for satellite phone rentals are fairly standard across the board. About two dollars per minute for outgoing calls, while incoming calls can be free, depending on the provider. But the person calling a satellite telephone can pay as much as fifteen dollars a minute. To call another satellite phone not on your network will cost ten dollars a minute. Prepaid calling cards are available beginning at about eight five cents a minute for a one hundred minute calling card. So if one is sending a teenage daughter on an African safari and she has forty friends she didn't want to leave back in America, the strong suggestion is not to stop off at one of the many satellite phone rental services on the way to the airport. However if the choice is to splurge, the young lady will be able to call Seattle the moment she sees her first wildebeest which could make it all worthwhile.
Companies that have satellite phone rentals have a very strong selling point for renting one of their products. On the ocean, at both of the Poles, on a wheat farm in Russia, at a fishing lodge at the far reaches of northern Canada, and let's not forget our men and women fighting for us overseas, the ability to talk at any time to a loving, reassuring, wise or just human voice, may make up for the services' high costs. All of this is made possible by both high flying and low flying orbiting communications pods that continually orbit the earth. And some of these are owned privately, which will explain some of the high cost of using them. "He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)
Satellite phone rental services are dependent upon both the geosynchronous orbiting relays and low earth orbiting communications relays to provide the signal passing from customer to orbiting relay to earth station. The geosynchronous orbiting relays actually sit still above the earth at about 22,000 miles, allowing four birds (military speak for satellites) to actually cover most of the earth for communications. These four "birds" are not the most efficient means for telephone communication because trees and steep hills can block their ability to receive signals. But the low orbiting birds are another thing. The orbits of these birds are between four hundred and seven hundred miles and number about a hundred. These are owned by private companies and orbit the earth every sixty to ninety minutes giving most of the earth coverage. Companies supplying Satellite phone rentals that use these low flying birds tell their customers if service cannot be provided at the moment desired wait a few minutes and another bird will be overhead.
The military have used these special telephones for a number of years, from command center to just allowing soldiers to talk to family. But they also prove invaluable when there are disasters that wipe out all communications. Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes, large floods, and hundreds of other manmade and natural disasters around the world make satellite phone rentals and purchases a necessity for those involved in the relief efforts. Unlike many other electronic products, the price of these communications marvels has not subsided. There have been rumors that the private owners of these birds flying around the earth may be facing bankruptcy. If so, the price of the phones may actually go up, because the same people who own the birds also make the phones to communicate with them, and suddenly a dearth of product means perhaps a spike in prices of those left on the market. While it can be exciting to know that wherever we go on this planet we can actually stay in touch with businesses, friends and loved ones with special telephones, how much more thrilling to know that God is ready at any time to listen and talk to His children!
|
|
|
|
