Smok'in Deal on GlobalStar Sat. Phones

[Scott Brady]

Just got an incredible deal on a GlobalStar sat phone from Columbia Overland . We paid $500 for the phone and only $20 per month UNLIMITED DATA AND VOICE! This is cheaper than an iPhone plan. Only available until 9/30.

I had to buy the phone and accessories, and then we received a contract that we filled-out and faxed back. Overall, pretty simple.

I just wanted others to know about the opportunity.

http://www.columbiaoverland.com/GlobalStar-SatPhone

 

[4x4x4doors]

Scott, that website link you posted says the $20 service plan ends 3/31/11 and that only applies to "Home Service Area". You sound like what you actually saw as contract differed from that?

EDit: I see that same question was posted on facebook whilst I was typing here.

 

[Scott Brady]

There are some regional restrictions, but the monthly cost is set for one year. Larry from Columbia can provide all of the details.

 

[Scott Brady]

GSP-1700 Launch Promotion »
GSP-1700 Satellite Phone for $499 with unlimited airtime voice plan at $19.99 per month. That's 12 months for less than $750 US!
Available in North America only
Please contact a dealer to take advantage of this great new plan!
Start Date: October 19th, 2010
End date for new activations: September 30, 2011
New Service Plans Only
One year term.

 

[geodasher]

The promo is available from most any GlobalStar dealer.
The 1600 prices have been slashed so that might be a better choice for some people ($200 "like new" with same promo offer).
There may be a $50 activation fee.
Plan cost after a year? It will probably jump up to $30 mo.
Excellent backcountry coverage.
The 9.6 KBps data rate is very slow for anything other than email and simple websites.
Not too heavy at 7 oz. (iPhone is 4.8 oz.) but, of course, needs to be connected to a computer for convenient data use.

 

[JRhetts]

Scott

Thanks for the heads up. I went over to Columbia Overland and after a little research found out that there is a major weakness for me with the GlobalStar network:

Because they use fixed rather than geosynchronous sats, they have significant coverage gaps, not just geographically [sig poorer signal for No Canada and Alaska] but also temporally.

We looked up on GlobalStar's website the times that they project calls can be made/received, and in Ross River, YK for example for today between 1300 and 1600, there were only ~45 min of time windows when they project calls could be made.

Since I will be up there for 4 months, I don't think the signal level and intermittancy meet my needs, but it still looks like a great deal for someone who has verified that it will work for them in their projected area(s) of travel.

John

 

[lwg]

Scott

Thanks for the heads up. I went over to Columbia Overland and after a little research found out that there is a major weakness for me with the GlobalStar network:

Because they use fixed rather than geosynchronous sats, they have significant coverage gaps, not just geographically [sig poorer signal for No Canada and Alaska] but also temporally.

We looked up on GlobalStar's website the times that they project calls can be made/received, and in Ross River, YK for example for today between 1300 and 1600, there were only ~45 min of time windows when they project calls could be made.

Since I will be up there for 4 months, I don't think the signal level and intermittancy meet my needs, but it still looks like a great deal for someone who has verified that it will work for them in their projected area(s) of travel.

John

Globalstar has some well documented issues for sure hence the lower price. They have had to completely re-do their entire satellite infrastructure due to a Nasa "miscalculation". Right now they have about 65-70% coverage as they just last month launched and activated quite a few satellites. Globalstar is expecting to have 95-100% coverage by springtime.

As for the $19.99/month deal, Globalstar has decided to extend this offer through the end of the year! The only other missing piece of information in this thread is the $50 activation fee that is charged per phone activated.

 

[charlieaarons]

I have learned to live with the 32kb/s download rate of Inmarsat/BGAN. I think one could even learn to live with 9.6kb/s. What is better about Globalstar is that you don't need to stop, get the antenna out, initialize it, and aim it. The downside of Globalstar for me would be the coverage issues, in terms of uncovered areas and also what JRhetts said about time availability.

Charlie

 

[Rando]

I am not sure this is really a good deal at all. The Globalstar satellite constellation is currently crippled for voice communications (which is why they have put most of their marketing effort into SPOT). In most locations you will only have coverage for a between 5 and 30 minutes for a couple of periods during the day. For instance at my location (in CONUS) I only have four periods today when the phone would work at all - and the longest call I could make would be at 10:52pm for 29 minutes. In order to be of any use at all you need to use their 'Satellite Availability Tool' to determine when the network will work for the location you are at. Unfortunately the tool is online - which makes it kind of hard to use when you need a satellite phone.

I definitely would not buy a globalstar phone for emergency or even just daily use at this point. There is a reason they are so cheap!

 

[Rando]

PS the issue has nothing to do with a NASA - there was a flaw in the design of the S-band amplifier in their first generation satellites, causing them to fail prematurely.

 

[adventureduo]

We've used Globalstar sat phones before in the field and we always joked that you have to wait for the satellite to coming flying by again before you can make a call. I always had good luck with making calls right away.. but others would use it, and stand on their roof racks, aim it all over and still never get a call out. You know how SPOT takes sometimes 20 mins to send a signal? Well same thing for this.. since it uses the same sats.

Anyhow, for the price though and emergency it may not be the best, but its certainly better than a cup and a string

 

[trevan]

As a Globalstar subscriber for several years now in Canada the service truly sucks. In the north you can get a signal every once in a while but that is no guarantee of making the call as I often get "all circuits are now busy" at prime times.

I rely on text messages from the outside world to tell me when I can call out and on that basis non emergency is pretty cost efective. In an emergency a wait of 30 minutes for a signal and a busy circuit could be the difference between life and death.

Buy with caution!

C

 

[cnynrat]

Scott

Thanks for the heads up. I went over to Columbia Overland and after a little research found out that there is a major weakness for me with the GlobalStar network:

Because they use fixed rather than geosynchronous sats, they have significant coverage gaps, not just geographically [sig poorer signal for No Canada and Alaska] but also temporally.

We looked up on GlobalStar's website the times that they project calls can be made/received, and in Ross River, YK for example for today between 1300 and 1600, there were only ~45 min of time windows when they project calls could be made.

Since I will be up there for 4 months, I don't think the signal level and intermittancy meet my needs, but it still looks like a great deal for someone who has verified that it will work for them in their projected area(s) of travel.

John

Just a brief technical note for those interested: I would typically describe geosynchronous satellites as "fixed", and constellations such as Globalstar as not fixed. Geosynchronous satellites are fixed at a given location above the Earth. Essentially, they travel around their orbit synchronously with the Earth's rotation. They are all located above the equator in orbits approximately 23,000 miles above the Earth.

Globalstar (like Iridium BTW) are Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations. In the case of Globalstar, they orbit approximately 850 miles above the earth. They do not orbit synchronously with the Earth's rotation, which means if you stand in one place satellites would move by you, and if you were using them you would transition from using one satellite to the next. This is why Globalstar coverage varies from location to location and time to time. Their ability to connect a call depends on whether a functioning satellite is within your "view" at any given time.

One of the obvious benefits of a LEO constellation is the significantly smaller and less complex antennas required to successfully send a signal to/from the satellite due to the fact they are so much closer to the Earth's surface. Another difference is the time lag to send a signal. If you ever try to carry on a conversation on a Inmarsat phone (Inmarsat is a geosynchronous constellation) you will immediately notice the significant time lag between when you talk and the guy on the other end hears you. It's difficult to stop talking over each other, exactly like what happens on one of those interviews by satellite on the news, which are in fact done using geosynchronous satellites.

 

[charlieaarons]

Interesting, I having been using Inmarsat for months and the 1/4 sec delay has never bothered me or the other party.
BTW, with Inmarsat you can always get through but the antenna aiming is a problem at high latitudes. But the ability to use the Internet made the decision vs Iridium a no-brainer for me.

Charlie

 

[Athabasca]

Iridium is worth the extra cost. We use our helicopter based Iridiums all day every day and they work 95% of the time. The other 5% is normally just a delay or dropped call.

SPOT was a last ditch effort to get some revenue from the Globalstar system.