Satellite phones and accessories

Satellite phones are phones which provide a wider coverage compared to conventional mobile phones. This is because they connect via orbital satellites. Depending on the network, a satellite phone may have coverage throughout the globe. They are extremely useful for people who travel a lot. They are also more secured compared to conventional telephone channels. Hence, they are used widely in defense departments of countries. Satellite phones can also be a good option for people residing in remote locations with little or no connectivity to conventional mobile or telephone networks.
Satellite phones can be acquired easily in most of the developed countries. Australians in remote areas can apply for a subsidy to acquire satellite phones. The calling costs of satellite phones may be more compared to telephones and common mobile phones. Common services like SMS, internet etc are also supported by most satellite phones. Common Satellite phone brands available in Australia are Iridium, Inmarsat, and Thuraya etc. Inmarsat and Thuraya use the geostationary Orbiting satellites while Iridium uses the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) technology. LEO satellites usually provide worldwide coverage with no gaps while geostationary satellite providers are able to maintain an almost continuous coverage.
Most satellite phones use encryption for security purposes. However, there have been cases where the algorithms have been reverse engineered. Hence, they may not be suitable for high security usage. These phones usually use special country codes. For instance, +870 is used by Inmarsat phones and +881 are used by LEO satellite phones. Satellite phones have proved to very useful under turbulent times. During times of natural disaster and war, most of the conventional telephone and mobile networks are out of service. Satellite phones can be useful for government authorities and disaster recovery teams in rescue operations. Common satellite phone accessories include cases, batteries, adapters, travel chargers, convertors, USB cables, etc. Other useful accessories could be ear phones, antennas, docks etc.