How to call from/to satellite phones

Despite the widespread development of cellular networks and the huge number of towers that continue to grow, there are still areas on the planet where the use of such technology is impossible. In these inaccessible areas, satellite communications come to the rescue.

Satellite communication - what is it and what is it for?

In fact, nothing radically from the usual for society mobile communications satellite is no different, it performs the same functions, allows you to establish communication between phones. The main difference is the scope. Where a classic mobile (cellular) phone can fail and issue the ill-fated “No Service”, notifying the subscriber that there is no cellular coverage nearby, satellite communications will fully function and will not allow losing contact with the outside world.

This is extremely important in those moments when the subscriber goes beyond the limits of cellular coverage, for example, on an exotic trip, in the mountains or in the dense jungle. Often such a connection saves lives, because only through it it will be possible to contact a rescue team if a person unexpectedly finds himself in a dangerous situation. Also, satellite communications are used by those who are constantly traveling for work and vitally need the opportunity to receive or make a call at any time.

Satellite phone: main characteristics

To work with this type of communication, a special satellite phone is required. They come in several types, namely: stationary and mobile. Mobile satellite phones appearance reminiscent of classic phones released in the period of 80-90s, but they have one characteristic detail: almost always such phones are equipped with an additional, unhidden antenna. Setting up a satellite phone is almost the same as setting up regular phone All you need is a suitable SIM card.

Stationary variants communicate with the satellite using specialized ground interface stations. You can get by with a portable version of such a station.

A number of manufacturers of satellite phones and, accordingly, owners of satellite networks, produce special accessories for modern smartphones, which are small cases that can make absolutely any gadget a satellite one. These cases connect to smartphones using a standard charging port and have a full set of peripherals typical of smartphones, such as headphone jacks. The covers are equipped with their own battery, they can charge a smartphone, that is, they act as a battery cover.

The principle of operation of satellite communications

Based on the name, it is clear that a satellite phone needs to be connected to a satellite in order to work. The satellite phone transmits the signal directly to the satellite, which, in turn, transmits it to another connecting satellite, and already it completes the process and transmits the signal to ground station conjugation. In the end, the call arrives at the stationary device, which closes the chain.

Telephone satellite communications able to work both within a certain area and on the territory of the entire Earth. It all depends on the satellites, some of them are close enough to the Earth and move relative to it, they allow you to cover the entire planet and make a call to any point. There are other types of satellites that are located relatively far from the globe, in geostationary orbits. Such satellites cover only specific locations, thereby limiting subscribers.

Satellite operators

In satellite communications, the same laws apply as in cellular, there are a number of operators providing satellite communications services. As a rule, these are the same companies that launch their satellites into space. Each of them has its own characteristics, pluses and minuses. On this moment, there are four main satellite operators, including: Iridium, Thuraya, Globalstar and Inmarsat.

Operator "Iridium" and its devices

Iridium is not just an operator, but a full-fledged satellite constellation. It owns 66 satellites moving in 11 near-Earth orbits. The distance from the satellite to the earth is less than 1000 kilometers. For the user, this means that no matter where in the world he is, using the services of this operator, he will always be in touch, the main thing is to be in the open air. Even if the connection failed when trying to connect, it is enough to wait some time and try again, since the satellites move fast enough, and one of them will definitely fly over the subscriber in the next 10 minutes.

The Iridium satellite phone does not support other SIM cards and cannot switch between cellular and satellite communications.

Also, many people find complete anonymity useful in the post-Soviet space. The Company does not have ground interface stations in Russia. This fact completely excludes the possibility of wiretapping within the country, even if special services take up this matter. Satellite phone "Iridium" is not equipped with a GPS module.

Thuraya operator and his devices

This operator has three satellites located in geostationary orbit. The distance between the satellite and the earth reaches 35 thousand kilometers. Unlike the Iridium satellites, these satellites only operate over a certain point near the equator, since they do not move relative to the planet. Roughly speaking, the Thuraya satellite phone does not function at the poles, the farther the subscriber moves away from the equator, the less likely it is to establish a connection.

Thuraya has entered into contracts with many "terrestrial" cellular operators, thanks to which, the company's devices can work with ordinary GSM-sim cards. This allows phones to automatically switch between different types connections. At the same time, the cost of the services of a cellular operator increases several times. At the same time, you can save on even more expensive satellite communications when there is no need for it. Thuraya phones provide Internet access at speeds up to 8 kilobytes per second, which is quite high for satellite Internet. The devices are equipped with a GPS module and constantly transmit location data to the company's servers. On the one hand, this fact can be confusing, since the user is constantly being monitored, on the other hand, such a function can save the life of a negligent traveler and extreme lover.

Operator "Globalstar" and its devices

Perhaps the most problematic operator, providing no best quality connections. In 2007, analysts conducted a study and found that the amplifiers installed on satellites degrade over time, and much faster than the design engineers expected. The reason for this is the orbit of the satellites: they pass through the Brazilian magnetic anomaly, which has a negative effect on the amplifier.

In order to somehow correct their situation, Globalstar launched several spare satellites into orbit, but to this day there are problems with calls. Often, the waiting time for registration on the network reaches 15-20 minutes, and the conversation itself lasts no more than 3 minutes.

The company manufactures its own devices. For example, the Globalstar satellite phone of the same name. Also devices from Erricson and Qualcomm work in their network.

Operator "Inmarsat" and its devices

The company manages 11 satellites hovering in geostationary orbit. The communications provider is focused on professional use and provides communications to power services, the navy (including the Russian one, when domestic satellites are out of order), and so on. However, there are other business-oriented subsystems. Through a system of satellites, you can make voice calls, transmit data over the Internet and send distress signals. Not so long ago, a new generation of satellites were launched into orbit, providing high quality connection and ISDN connection for data transfer at high speeds.

The company is not engaged in the development of portable solutions for ordinary people, therefore this is not the best choice for civilians looking for a satellite phone.

Rates

The cost of the services of the companies described above is much higher than the cost of GSM communication. Iridium and Thuraya work directly with their users by selling SIM cards for satellite phones.

Thuraya, for example, charges for the SIM card itself (about 800 rubles), for the initial connection (about 700 rubles). Communication is paid per minute, on average from 20 to 40 rubles, depending on which phone the call is made to. Internet traffic is paid separately - 360 rubles per megabyte. Tariffs for international communications depend on the country receiving the call, on average from 70 to 120 rubles. Incoming calls are free.

Iridium immediately offers global tariffs and sells them in prepaid packages. The price for the basic package is 7500 rubles, it includes 75 minutes of communication. There are other packages designed for corporate users, the number of minutes in those reaches 4000 or more.

Satellite phone numbers in Russia, like cell phones, start with +7 (location code) and a seven-digit number. International number includes complete code countries - +8816 265 and so on.

How to make a call to a satellite phone almost free of charge?

This article will discuss the rules for dialing a satellite phone with minimal economic costs.

It is well known that the cost of a call from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN/PSTN), an alternative network telephone communication VOIP operators, as well as from cellular network mobile communication per subscriber number of terminals and telephones operating in the satellite mobile communication network is considered quite large, it can reach twenty US dollars per minute.

Below are some tips on how to make almost free calls to satellite phones, terminals of Thuraya, Globalstar, Iridium, Inmarsat satellite mobile networks.

How to call an Iridium satellite phone (Iridium) almost free of charge?

Making calls at the expense of the called user can be used in situations where the caller does not have the technical or financial ability to make a direct call to the numbers of Iridium system subscribers.

Of course, it is imperative that before using this method, it is advisable to first agree with the called subscribers, whose personal account you will use to take money to pay off incoming calls, so that the fact of taking funds from the personal account does not become an unpleasant surprise that can lead to more more unpleasant legitimate consequences, such as blocking a number due to the exhaustion of paid air time, and so on.

In addition, it is necessary to activate the very possibility of dialing to subscriber numbers with debiting the price of calls from the personal accounts of Iridium subscribers, which the service provider can do either immediately with the purchase of a satellite telephone and activation of airtime packages, possibly later on requests from subscribers.

To start using this service, you need to purchase a dial-up card with the required denomination, after which you will be informed of the PIN code required to access the gateway. After that, you can call the numbers of subscribers of the Iridium network.

There are 2 options for dialing to Iridium subscriber numbers at their expense:

1) First option: Assignment of a dedicated phone number to an Iridium subscriber + subsequent forwarding of incoming calls to a real phone number of any subscriber of the Iridium satellite network.

This method is considered faster in terms of the period of time required to establish communications with the subscriber, but this option assumes a monthly constant payment for using a dedicated telephone number, as well as payment per minute for incoming calls, followed by debiting these funds from the personal account of a real Iridium subscriber.

The cost of one minute of a call for callers using such a dial-up card, in this case, will be almost negligible, amounting to a few cents.

2) Second option: Calls to satellite Iridium phones via US gateway.

This method will require a slightly longer period of time to establish a strong connection with the Iridium subscriber, since for this it is necessary to first establish a connection with the US gateway gateway. After the connection with the gateway is established, the caller is invited to dial the 12-digit number of the real subscriber of the Iridium network and remain on the line until the connection is established with the desired subscriber. If users' phones are in pulse mode, Iridium will need to be switched before dialing. tone mode by pressing the star button.

For every 60 seconds of a conversation, a certain amount will be debited from the account of the called subscriber. The cost of one minute of a call for callers using such a dial-up card, in this case, will be almost negligible, amounting to a few cents.

As a result, the use of one of the above two methods allows the caller to make calls to telephone sets and terminals of the Iridium satellite network almost free of charge, and the called subscribers will pay quite reasonable amounts compared to the price of calls from PSTN telephone networks, an alternative Internet telephony network, cellular mobile communication networks.

How to call the satellite phone Inmarsat (Inmarsat), dialing procedure?

How to dial satellite Thuraya (Turaya) - phone?

The possibility of making a call to the telephone of the satellite Thuraya (Turaya) network by means of various operators should be clarified directly with specific operators.

The procedure for dialing telephone numbers for subscribers of the satellite Thuraya (Turaya) network when calling from a mobile phone of a cellular communication network: dial + 88216 [numbers subscriber number satellite Thuraya phone].

The procedure for dialing telephone numbers of subscribers of the satellite Thuraya (Turaya) network when calling from the public telephone network (PSTN / PSTN) using Rostelecom: dial 8 108 8216 [digits of the subscriber number of the satellite Thuraya telephone].

If subscribers of the Thuraya satellite network use simple SIM cards of GSM mobile operators in their phones, then the dialing procedure looks like dialing a regular call to a cellular telephone.

How to dial a satellite phone Globalstar (Globalstar)?

To get through to the satellite phone of the Russian segment of the Globalstar system, there is no need to make international calls in the "810 ..." formats.

The rules for making calls to a satellite Globalstar phone are similar to making long-distance calls, when a three-digit city code immediately follows after dialing the "eight".

So, the order of dialing when calling a satellite phone of the Russian segment of the Globalstar network looks like this: 8 954 [digits of the subscriber number of the satellite Globalstar phone].

The cost of 60 seconds of a call to the telephone number of the Russian Globalstar system will be different for calls using different operators long distance, but will be acceptable enough. The cost of a 60 second call will also depend on the location of the caller.

Most frequently asked questions:

1. How to call Thuraya satellite phone?

You can call Thuraya satellite phone from mobile phones connected to the largest cellular operators Megafon, MTS, Beeline, from a number of commercial telephone networks (KTS) and with the help of Rostelecom. You should check with your operator about the possibility of making calls to Thuraya when using KTS. You can call from the public telephone network (PSTN) if Rostelecom is chosen as the long-distance operator and the contract is concluded for a private person.

Thuraya subscriber dialing rule when calling from a cell phone.

The rule for dialing a Thuraya subscriber's number when calling through Rostelecom.

8-10-88216-xxxxxxx

In the event that Thuraya satellite phone has its own GSM SIM card installed, then the dialing rules will not differ in any way from the rules for calls to a cell phone.

2. How to call from Thuraya satellite phone?

Dialing Rules for Calling from Thuraya Satellite Phone

3. How to call the satellite phone GlobalStar (GlobalStar)?

You can call a Globalstar satellite phone connected in the Russian Federation both from a regular (PSTN) and from a mobile phone.

Rule for dialing a GlobalStar subscriber's number when calling from PSTN.

for telephone networks with pulse dialing:
8954xxxxxx

for telephone networks with tone dialing:
8954xxxxxx

where 954 is the GlobalStar satellite network code

Dialing rule for GlobalStar subscriber when calling from mobile phones.

In the event that the GlobalStar satellite phone has its own GSM SIM card installed, then the dialing rules will not differ in any way from the rules for calling to a cell phone.

4. How to call from a satellite phone Globalstar (GlobalSatr)?

Dialing rules when calling from a GlobalStar satellite phone

+ [country code] [city code or mobile network] [subscriber number] call button

5. How to call the satellite phone Iridium (Iridium)?

You can call the Iridium satellite phone (Iridium) from phones connected to cellular operators Megafon, MTS, Beeline, from a number of IP communication operators and with the help of Rostelecom. The possibility of making calls to Iridium (Iridium) when using another provider should be clarified in its subscriber service. You can call from the public telephone network (PSTN) if Rostelecom is chosen as the long-distance operator and the contract is concluded for a private person.

Iridium subscriber dialing rule when calling from a cell phone.

Iridium subscriber dialing rule when calling through Rostelecom.

8-10-8816-xxxxxx

6. How to make calls from an Iridium satellite phone?

Dialing rules when calling from an Iridium satellite phone (Iridium)

When using the 9500, 9505 and 9505A phones:

00 [country code] [area or mobile network code] [subscriber number] call button

When using a 9555 or Extreme 9575 phone:

+ [country code] [area or mobile network code] [subscriber number] call button

where is the call button

7. If the Iridium phone (Iridium) shows the wrong date and time (epoch change)

If at one point your satellite phone Iridium (Iridium) 9555 or Extreme 9575 began to show an incomprehensible date and time, and also refused to make outgoing calls, do a simple operation:

1. Dial *#99#2014051114235500#
2. Press the green button
3. Switch your phone off and on.

Everything should be back to normal.