Sat phone buy or rent

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
I'm looking at getting a sat phone for my upcoming Alaska trip . We will be gone for about two months. I have an InReach but would like voice capability .

Does anyone have a vendor they have worked with before? I've seen different articles about buying vs renting .

What experience if any has anyone with renting or buying a Sat phone. I Know either way I would want an Iridium .

Thanks
 

parkkitchings

Adventurer
I know someone who has one in like new condition. He's currently in Baja but will be crossing the border in a couple of months headed back up to Canada. I don't have the exact details on it but if you're interested PM me your email and I'll forward it to him. I usually hear from him every week or so.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
It seems to me that 2 months is probably still short enough that it's going to be cheaper to rent than buy. I'd think you'd be looking at $30 per week for basic older phone, so total of $250 for your 2 months? The cross over point might be 6 months where buying a phone starts to make sense.
 
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mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Running some numbers last night I found renting a phone for two months would be about $900.00 . Purchasing a new Iridium 9555 with car kit is $1165. The Iridium Extreme is more and offers GPS capability to post to Facebook and an SOS button. I have an InReach that has those features.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Wow, didn't realize it was that much.

https://www.globalcomsatphone.com/product/479-iridium-9505a-satellite-phone-rental

Iridium 9505 for $30/week. It's an older phone but perfectly usable. You can find them for about $750 used, so that would be about 6 or 7 months of rental.

Configured with 200 minutes, 8 weeks, 2-day delivery and a pre-paid return label it came to $619. If you go up in minutes to 500 the price per minute drops to $1.19/min, not sure how much you intend to use it but rent or buy the minutes are always necessary.
 
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DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
You failed to mention what basic older phone you are referring to. All in all , looks like buying would be the most cost effective Especially when I would be renting for more than one trip.


https://www.mobal.com/buy-satellite-phone/iridium/buyers-guide/rent-vs-buy/
It is there, a 9505. And I did just check eBay, they are about $300. So my calculations are in fact wrong. I guess it depends on what features you need, then. For a 2 month trip you are probably better off buying a used phone unless you need something unique. Renting probably only makes sense for a week or two.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Iridium-95...160304?hash=item1ed70fde70:g:kaEAAOSwa81aTkGI
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
The issue with older phones is it's performance . Degraded battery, longer registration time etc.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
The issue with older phones is it's performance . Degraded battery, longer registration time etc.
OK, how about approach it this way, what phone(s) are you considering that will meet your needs? Nothing wrong with wanting something lighter or with longer battery life.

The battery for a 9505A is the Motorola BAT0602 and it's not expensive (about $70 on Amazon, around $85 to $90 at full price). So for $300 used there would seem to be a lot of budget to grab extra new ones.

How about this generic one for $19?
https://www.amazon.com/BAT0401-BAT0601-Replacement-Motorola-Satellite/dp/B01JH3FXIO

In your original post it was just voice capability to extend your InReach. You obviously have something you're after.
 

pluton

Adventurer
I have recently used satphonestore.com for airtime for my Inmarsat iSatphone Pro. They seem knowledgable and efficient. Don't know if they sell used.
 

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