Finally I have a satellite handset, too :love:

Any news about a good prepaid offer about Globalstar network?

How much was it?

200?, delivered and brand new :)

It's a pity that i can use it only with a Wind postpaid.... Wind wrote that satellite roaming was able for prepaid customers too, but this was false :(

That is a big phone :blink:

I would love one of those Thuraya + triband GSM phones that were just released (or announced) - then you can use prepaid GSM, or prepaid thuraya (too bad you cannot use prepaid iridium as well :P)

Not so much... also I have it in my car for emergency, not so important if it is big :)

Well, O2 UK is supposed to work with Thuraya. I don't see anything about Globalstar. Elsacom offers Globalstar service in Europe and has prepaid plans. Have you tested a Vodafone (IT) SIM?

yes, i tested 2 postpaid sim cards... a Wind and a Vodafone IT. It's a pity that i can't use prepaids... :( I'll test Tim prepaid... maybe it will go :)

Thuraya + triband GSM sounds great but a little strange as well. Thuraya phones aren't that big as for satphones but... In areas of GSM 1900 Thuraya has no coverage so it doesn't make sense to carry the satellite part there :)

For coverage reasons Iridium + quad band GSM would be the best :)

Somehow OT, a few weeks ago I read on one of Polish GSM portals about Blueberry quadband GSM + iDEN - also not bad.

For some reason, I'm not impressed by the combination of cellular and satellite in a single handset. It didn't go over well in the original Iridium phones. I don't think anyone is going to lug a ~1kg handset around town when he can just pop the SIM into a GSM phone the size of a snuff box.

For my part, I'd be happy if Iridium just reopened GSM roaming for those of us who own a handset but have little need to keep an account active. At the same time I understand how Iridium would see no advantage in doing this, since many people who do keep accounts just for emergencies would drop them and fall back to roaming.

Don't exaggerate! Eg. Thuraya Huges 7101 with GSM 900 weighs 220 grams. Adding another GSM bands will "cost" a few grams more in the worst case :). Some smartphones and palmphones have similar weight and people buy and carry them.

:poster_oops: I forgot that now Iridium has no roamings (except for Orange Israel AFAIK) so combining it with GSM any other system in a single handset really makes no sense.

Yes, but the original Iridium Motorola 9500 was about 500g, before adding the cellular module.

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>ANDREA</span>


i have been offered some cheap thuraya cards, and i want to ask you whether they work in normal GSM phones. I know the whole point of thuraya is to have satellite reception, but i just want to see the look on my friends faces when i tell them to call me on my satellite phone :lol: :D :o

Thuraya sim cards in GSM handsets? Ok, you can test it :lol:

As I understand it, Thuraya postpaid accounts can roam on many GSM carriers. I'm not sure the same is true for prepaid.

It seems that Thuraya prepaid roaming is limited to incoming calls only.

http://www.thuraya.com/products/roaming_marketing.htm

<quote>
Roaming in Thuraya means:
[cut]

* Thuraya post-paid subscribers can send and receive calls while roaming in the GSM networks. However, Thuraya prepaid subscribers presently can only receive calls while roaming on GSM networks.
</quote>

It's curious that the vast majority of Thuraya's active roaming partners are in their coverage footprint. I guess the only reason for roaming with a Thuraya SIM is to be able to receive incoming calls while under a roof. It would seem more reasonable to have roaming where you don't offer service. I guess it's just me.

i still dont understand?