How Can I Buy A Top-Up For My Prepaid Thuraya Phone?

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of RentASatPhone.com.au,  Australia’s number one satellite communications Rental store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “How can I buy a top-up for my prepaid Thuraya phone“

In previous articles we have discussed that to buy a Thuraya satellite phone in Australia, either the SO2510 or the SG2520, you have to go through an Optus dealer.

We have also discussed that Optus have no immediate plans to bring out a prepaid option.

So where do those hundreds of clients in Australia who have previously purchased Thuraya prepaid SIM cards go to for their top-ups?

To cover the basics, a ‘top-up’ is how you access more minutes for your satellite phone so you can continue using it without having to go on a satellite phone airtime plan.

I am pleased to say you can go to www.RentASatPhone.com.au where we’ll be happy to assist you with any further top-ups you need for your Thuraya SO2510 or your Thuraya SFG2520 handsets.

Simply give us a call. Even if you’re in the middle of nowhere, we can do this for you over the phone and send the minutes/units you require directly to you.

You can reach RentASatPhone.com.au on 1300 851 591 Or to find out more information simply go to www.rentasatphone.com.au.

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones and how you can keep up-to-date, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.RentASatPhone.com.au or call us on 1300 851 591.

Do I Dial Local Number When Calling From a Satellite Phone?

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of RentASatPhone.com.au,   Australia’s number one satellite communications Rental store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “Do I dial a local number when calling from a satellite phone”?

At the time of writing, the two networks that are available in Australia are Thuraya and Iridium.

This question has a variety of answers. Sorry, I know nothing to do with satellite phones seems simple.

Rather than going into each retailer’s airtime plans and what they offer, as this alone is a minefield, my objective here is to give you an overview of the topic. You should check with your provider about their individual methods.

The Thuraya network is a funny one. I have personally used them remotely and just dialled a local number and got through without a problem. I dialled the territory code and the number and hey presto, I got connected.

Then a few weeks later I tried exactly the same thing while in Tom Price in the north of Western Australia and got a message from a man speaking in a foreign language. As I was in a different country to him I dialled the familiar 0061 89…and got through straight away.

So from my experience, if you are not with Optus with your Thuraya satellite phone then try it. If it doesn’t work resort to the standard global codes.

If you are with Optus you should be able to just dial a local number. This is because it goes through their exchange. This all sound good, but beware. In our experience when a satellite phone goes through a local exchange you can quite often be charged when someone phones you.

For incoming calls on Thuraya, however, you will be given an international code and phone number, and that’s what people will use to call you from their landline or mobile phone.

This attracts international or special satellite call rates from your phone provider so check with them about their charges.

Now, things do not get any easier with Iridium.

The straight answer is that Iridium have their own network and their own designated telephone numbers. So after dialling the international code 0011, let’s say it’s for Australia, you would dial 61, then the number 0.

If you were dialling the Iridium satellite phone from a landline or a mobile telephone you would dial 0011 88 then the rest of the number. This just means that 88 is their country code, just like 61 is Australia’s.

The second part to this answer is that a number of dealers offer local numbers for their Iridium satellite phones and service.

We are one of those, Telstra and Pivotel do also.

So, what the advantages of a local number and why have one?

Well there are two reasons why this can be useful but there is a catch. On this one it’s cost.

The truth, as discussed earlier, is the satellite phone has its own number so to add a local exchange number and have it go through that exchange, making it seem like a standard local number, costs you. The cost can be and often is hidden in a barrage of bull in the provider’s airtime plans.

The most common hidden cost if you add the local number feature is that the service provider will charge you for incoming calls, whereas if you stay with the standard satellite number there’s no exchange charge, thus making it cheaper.

In our experience the main benefit of having this local number feature on your Iridium phone is if your company has international calls barred from its landlines. A local exchange number means you can be called from the office.

There are a number of large organisations that block international calls from its landlines, so it’s always worth checking if your satellite phone can be called from your office phones.

In our experience less than 15% of consumers are willing to pay the extra charge for this feature.

To summarise, unless you get the local number extra feature, when dialling a satellite phone from a landline or mobile phone you will be dialling, for example for Western Australia, 0011 88 9XXX XXXX; and when dialling from a satellite phone to a landline you will dial, for example for Western Australia, 0061 8 9XXX XXXX.

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones rental and how to use them, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.RentASatPhone.com.au or call us on 1300 851 591.

What Does ‘Flagfall’ Mean on my Satellite Phone Airtime Contract?

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of RentASatPhone.com.au,  Australia’s number one satellite communications Rental store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “What does ‘flagfall’ mean on my satellite phone airtime contract?”

At the time of writing, the two networks available in Australia are Thuraya and Iridium.

Thuraya can only be purchased through an Optus authorised satellite phone dealer. When you look at their airtime plans you will find the term ‘flagfall’.

The Iridium network can be purchased from a number or dealers including Telstra, Pivotel, SatellitePhoneSales.com.au and Iridiumdirect.com.au, to name just a few.

With all these dealers, dig a little deeper into their airtime contracts and you’ll find costings for flagfall.

‘Flagfall’ is the industry term for the connection fee charged for making a call from your satellite phone to anyone: landline, mobile or even another satellite phone. These vary from 40c to 60c per call.

“That’s not much,” I hear you say and you’re right. It’s not much for one call. But depending on how often you use your satellite phone, this can really add up.

What happens is you think you are paying one price for each 30secs of your call, but the truth is you will pay a higher charge for the first 30secs because of the flagfall.

My advice regarding this? Buyer beware.

Look for a satellite dealership (such as RentASatPhone.com.au) that doesn’t charge a flagfall. That way you know what you’re in for and you won’t be getting bills that are higher than you expected.

The next question I often get is, “What if the connection breaks and I have to redial, do I get charged the flagfall again?” The answer is ‘yes’.

To summarise, a flagfall is a connection fee, so every time you connect you will be charged that fee.

Does every satellite provider and dealer charge a flagfall?

The answer is ‘no’. Most do but you tend to find the online stores do not. This may be down to lower overheads or a different corporate mentality. Make sure you shop around.

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones and how to save money on yours, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.RentASatPhone.com.au or call us on 1300 851 591.

How Do I Know I’ve Got The Best and Most Transparent Satellite Phone Airtime Contract?

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of RentASatPhone.com.au,  Australia’s number one satellite communications Rental store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “How do I know I’ve got the best and most transparent satellite phone airtime contract?”

It’s no wonder you, the consumer, can get confused.

With so many airtime contracts available through the five or six satellite phone airtime providers it’s a complete maze out there when it comes to traffic agreements and satellite phone airtime agreements.

And that’s just the way the big guns like it.

So they offer you this plan or that plan, which has this amount per month, oh but don’t forget you get five minutes or ten minutes free airtime with this plan, oh but then you have to pay a flagfall… the list of baffling options goes on and on.

With most satellite phone airtime contracts requiring you to sign up for 24 months, getting the wrong plan can be a very costly mistake to make.

You will also find it difficult to get all the answers you need to make an informed choice. That’s because they either don’t want you to know or they simply don’t understand it themselves. So don’t be surprised when you get only half the answers you were expecting backed by a very expensive invoice each month.

And don’t forget: that’s going be the same for another 23 months.

It took RentASatPhone.com.au, Australia’s number one satellite communications Rental store, to break the mould of the more commonly known names in satellite airtime.

So much so that we have the simplest and easiest to understand airtime contracts in the business.

It starts with a monthly access fee and a 30sec billing time. That’s it.

Yes, I know. You’re shocked! There’s no flagfall of 60c every time you make a call, no incoming call costs - and no waffle.

Just a simple, transparent satellite phone airtime plan that you can easily understand and, more importantly, one that’s completely flexible.

As your needs and requirements change we will grow with you and can simply change your plan whenever you need to.

And with only a 12 month rather than 24 month contract it means that if your circumstances change there’s no huge get-out fee.

So benefit from the most transparent contracts by going to www.RentASatPhone.com.au.

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones and how to find the best plan for you, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.RentASatPhone.com.au or call us on 1300 851 591.

How Can I Receive an SMS or Text Message to my Satellite Phone Without it Costing Anyone?

Hi. My name is John Whitley and I’m the founder of RentASatPhone.com.au,  Australia’s number one satellite communications Rental store.

In this article I want to answer one of the most common questions I get from anyone looking into satellite phones in Australia, “How can I receive an SMS or text message to my satellite phone without it costing anyone”?

Both of the current networks within Australia, Thuraya and Iridium, allow you to receive and send SMS from any of their satellite phones.

In our experience, however, it’s common for SMS, or text messages as they are sometimes known, to get lost in space. If the SMS you’re sending is urgent or you’re relying on it to get through then it’s imperative that you request confirmation from the recipient that they have received it.

Also, if your satellite phone wasn’t on when you were sent an SMS, you may not always receive it.

So, a tip if you are sending or receiving an SMS on a satellite phone: ask for confirmation that yours was received and send confirmation letting them know you got theirs.

Another point to keep in mind is that each SMS or text from a satellite phone can vary in cost from $1.00 to $2.00 so please shop around if that is an important part of your usage.

Also check if it costs for you to receive an SMS or text, you’ll be surprised by the answers from each dealer or network.

There is a way for you to receive SMS or text messages without it costing you or the person who is sending the message from both current satellite phone networks within Australia.

To give you the greatest opportunity to find the deal that’s best for you, we’ve found three online satellite phone stores that offer a free SMS or text messaging service to any satellite phone or network - free of charge. Yes, free.

This means rather than your office or home calling you on your satellite phone and you having to pay huge costs from your home or office plan your callers can simply go to a website, put in your satellite phone number and send you a message - completely free.

Just go to these websites and look for the SMS button in their main menu bar. I have asked their permission and they are more than happy for you to utilise their services, whether you purchased from them or not:

• www.satellitephonesales.com.au
• www.rentasatphone.com.au
• www.iridiumdirect.com.au

I trust you found this information useful. If you’d like to know anything more about satellite phones and internet equipment, please contact us.

We’ll be happy to help you.

See our website for more free advice and to learn all you need to know about satellite phones.

Visit www.RentASatPhone.com.au or call us on 1300 851 591.