Satellite Phone Rentals and Sales
Customer Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
toll free: 888.884.7623, direct dial: 619.596.4574
Yes. Keep in mind that the person calling you will be charged for an international long distance call. If you use Iridium's two-stage dialing method, the person calling you will be charged for a call to Arizona and you will be charged your regular per minute rate.
No. If you choose not to purchase a prepaid bundle of minutes with your rental, then you will be charged at the standard per minute rate. (Globalstar=$1.59/min, Iridium=$1.80/min std)
Your rental period begins on the day that you receive the phone and ends when All Road Communications receives the phone back from you. If possible, All Road will send the phone earlier than requested, but you WILL NOT be charged for this extra time and you WILL be notified of this early delivery.
2222 Fourth Avenue, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92101
E-mails can be sent to Iridium pagers or phones by entering the Iridium phone or pager number into the following generic address, 8816[number]@msg.iridium.com.
You may send a maximum of 160 characters. Any messages in excess of 160 characters will be truncated.
Step 1 - Press Menu until you see "Phone Book", and then press "OK" to select.
Step 2 - Press Menu untill you see "My Phone Number(s)", and then press "OK" to select.
Step 3 - Your SIM card phone number will be displayed.
Step 4 - Press and hold "C" to exit the menu.
Note: If you do not see your number(s), they have not been programmed onto your SIM card. Contact your Service Provider for more information.
Yes. The software required for Iridium World Data Services is available on a CD through an Iridium Authorized Service Provider either by itself or included in the Iridium Data Kit.
No. The software on the Iridium World Data Services CD allows you to utilize your Iridium phone as a modem. This CD is sold separately or packaged with the Iridium Data Kit.
Is a SIM card inserted into the phone?
Check to see that the antenna is fully attached, fully extended and vertical, and that the phone is outside with a clear line-of-site to the sky.
Turn the phone off and then on again and wait for the phone to register.
If the phone will not register, attempt to force registration by pressing the up arrow key and the number 8 on the phone’s keypad.
No. Videoconferencing is not currently supported.
Yes. It is recommended that you use version 4.7x or higher.
Yes, you can still receive text messages while on a data call. The phone will provide an audio alert and then prompt you to read the message. This will NOT interrupt a data call or cause loss of a connection.
Iridium data is supported with computers running Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0 (Service Pack 4 or higher), 2000 and XP.
To improve data transfer rates, configure your browser to NOT download pictures, animation, and sound. Detailed instructions as to how to change your settings are available on the Data CD in the Docs folder, in the Application Notes file.
This problem tends to manifest itself when signal quality is an issue. Users who are attempting data calls from inside of a building also tend to have this difficulty. When your call drops, look at the signal strength indicator in the upper left corner of the LCD on the phone and verify that your signal is in the range of 4 to 5 bars. If you are not getting 4 to 5 bars of signal, you may want to adjust your antenna to get a better view of the sky. If the problem persists, please contact the dealer through whom you purchase Iridium service. You may also want to verify that your connection is not spoofing.
SmartConnect is a feature of the Apollo software that assists you in maintaining as robust a connection as possible. Due to the nature of the technology, satellite calls occasionally drop. If this occurs during a Direct Internet call, SmartConnect will automatically attempt to re-establish the connection. In addition, this feature will also pick up the data transfer at the point the connection was lost.
When data is not transmitting over the connection for a period of time, the connection “spoofs.” When a connection spoofs, the phone connection is dropped and a placeholder is reserved in the server. Once the user sends data (e.g. click on a hyperlink or send an email), the phone automatically dials back into the system and the connection is reestablished almost immediately. This feature reduces airtime and improves the phone’s battery life.
No. Iridium Direct Internet Data requires software that is compatible with Microsoft Windows Operating Systems only.
Reception is generally good but may vary by day and location. The more open sky you have available the better your signal. Clouds and foliage do not necessarily provide a significant hindrance to signal availability but a solar flare will. Finally, you should not expect to use your satellite phone with an artificial structure over your head.
If you use a Globalstar phone you will have either a Texas based 254 area code or a Florida based 863 area code. If you use an Iridium phone you will have an international number starting with either 8816 or 8817.
You will have global coverage with our Satellite phone service with the following geographical exceptions: South Korea, North Sri Lanka, Hungary and Poland.
It is estimated that 50 per cent of the world has little or no phone service. The advent of affordable satellite telephony and other wireless services will change this, since it eliminates the need for costly landline or wireless network infrastructures. In fact, industry experts anticipate that the market potential for mobile global satellite communications is between 10 and 30 million customers. Across North America, business, government, and even the general public need the ability to communicate wherever they are located or traveling. With many regions not having existing landline or cellular coverage there is distinct need for reliable and quality voice and data services. These users are from a variety of industries:
-Companies in the natural resources business, specifically oil and gas, mining and forestry enterprises
-Maritime industry, fishing boats, and recreational boaters
-Transportation, such as railways and trucking
-Cellular users who are looking to extend the range of their existing service
-Various federal and provincial government agencies
-Fire, police and emergency services
-Leisure users who fish, hunt, snowmobile etc.
-Recreational vehicles, cruise ships etc.
-Global business travelers who travel to destinations where local telephone service is unreliable or expensive
-Also, in rural or underserved areas where landline phone service doesn't exist or is of poor quality.
Satellite phones offer many of the same characteristics as cellular phones, including a similar user interface and design. One of the main differences between satellite and cell phones is that the user must put up a larger satellite antenna in order to receive satellite signals. Satellite phones are slightly larger in size than cellular phones because the antenna system required to communicate on the satellite frequencies must be larger than a cellular phone antenna. Another fundamental difference between traditional wireless phones and satellite phones, is that when the phone is in satellite mode, it must be within satellite line-of-sight in order to complete calls. Therefore the mobile handset cannot be used indoors. If satellite phone services are required indoors then an external antenna, allowing line-of-sight between the handset and the satellite.
Satellite customers make or receive calls using the hand-held phone or with the hands free car kit. The phones communicate via a provider's satellite that bounces the signal back down to the nearest earth station that interconnects to the local telephone system. The process takes roughly 10 milliseconds, delivering excellent voice clarity and no perceptible voice delay.
