What's for you?

The traveller

You’re heading somewhere with patchy or no GSM coverage — Sahara, Andes, central Asia, polar — and you want one device that just works.

• First pick: Iridium 9575 Extreme. Genuinely tough, truly global, GPS and SOS built in. The most-bought satphone in the UK for a reason.
• If budget is tight: Iridium 9555. Same network, less rugged, materially cheaper, still excellent.
• If your trip is one-off: rent it. Iridium 9575 rental from £35/week plus airtime.

The expedition leader

Mountaineering, polar, multi-week wilderness, where the phone is also your weather, position reporting and contingency lifeline.

• First pick: Iridium GO! exec. Smartphone-via-satellite WiFi hotspot — your team’s phones use it like cellular, voice and messaging included. Robust, rechargeable, 22-hour battery.
• Add: a 9575 Extreme as backup handset. Two-fault tolerance matters when the situation is real.
• Airtime: Iridium Unlimited Data Northern Lights plan if budget allows; otherwise a higher-allowance monthly plan.

The yachtsman / yacht owner

Recreational sailing, transats, deliveries, blue-water cruising.

• In ARC range and below 76°N: Inmarsat IsatPhone 2. Outstanding battery (8h talk, 160h standby), great call quality on a geostationary network, IP65 rated.
• Going higher latitudes: Iridium GO! or 9575 Extreme. Inmarsat starts to struggle near the poles; Iridium doesn’t.
• Want broadband too: Iridium GO! exec or an Inmarsat Fleet One terminal.
• Need GMDSS compliance: see our GMDSS page.

The commercial vessel operator

You need always-on voice, data, safety services and reliable monthly cost.

• Smaller vessels: Inmarsat Fleet One or FleetBroadband 150.
• Larger vessels: FleetBroadband 250 / 500 or Iridium Certus 700.
• GMDSS: Iridium and Inmarsat both offer compliant solutions — we can quote either.
• Talk to us. This isn’t an off-the-shelf decision. Get a quote.

The broadcaster / journalist

You need to file copy and audio from anywhere, including hostile environments.

• First pick: Inmarsat BGAN Explorer 510 or 710. Pocketable, fast enough for SD video uplink, runs on batteries.
• Add: a handset for voice resilience. Iridium 9575 or IsatPhone 2.
• Airtime: streaming-class BGAN plans by the minute. Expensive — make sure your editor is paying.

The NGO / humanitarian field worker

Reliable comms in countries with patchy or hostile infrastructure, often for months at a time.

• Handsets: Thuraya XT-PRO or Iridium 9555 depending on region.
• Hub kit: BGAN Explorer 710 for a deployable office.
• Tracking: SPOT X or Iridium Edge for lone-worker safety.

The emergency-comms / preparedness buyer

You want a phone that lives in a drawer and works the day the network goes down.

• First pick: Inmarsat IsatPhone 2. Lowest annual ownership cost on a “rest of the year” tariff, battery survives years of standby.
• For dispersed teams: SPOT X messengers are cheap, two-way, and have SOS.
• Test it twice a year. A satphone you’ve never used in anger is not a satphone you trust. Here’s how to test it.

The IoT / asset tracking buyer

Containers, generators, agricultural equipment, remote pipelines.

• Iridium Edge / SmartOne C if global coverage is needed.
• SPOT Trace / SmartOne B for regional coverage on a price-sensitive deployment.
• Talk to us about pooled airtime — it’s where the savings live. Quote please.

The aviation customer

Fixed-wing, helicopter, business jet.

• Iridium Certus 350/700 for cockpit and cabin broadband on tubular and rotor.
• Inmarsat SwiftBroadband / Jet ConneX for jet operators wanting heavier cabin data.
• Don’t shop online for this. Call us.

Still not sure?

We’d rather spend twenty minutes on a call than ship you the wrong kit. Hotline 0800 747 6747 or submit a brief and we’ll come back to you in writing.