Iridium Phone with Telstra SIM

I may not have been clear. I have the $10 plan but it is nolonger available...............Jeff

Thanks Trouper
the last reference I can find to that plan seems to be early last year, thanks for the confirmation.
Cheers

The ten dollar plan was available when I first got a Telstra mobile several aeons ago. It has been discontinued, but because I keep paying, they cannot upgrade without notice AND without my agreement (which I refuse to give).
It is most certainly not available to new plan subscribers any more. It has been chewed up with plans that "give" data and other stuff I do not need! It is a PHONE, for goodness sake, and is used for talking to people. If I need data, I'll use a computer!

According to the Telstra website it is still available.

Hi Allan

The document is dated 2012 2013 so may not be current.

When I couldn't find it last year I contacted them and they told me the offer was ONLY available by phone.

Well it was current when I obtained it in 2014 so it also may be current.
Talking to Telstra on the phone is an exercise in futility.

Did you get it via internet or Telstra shop Allan. Sometimes you can phone ten times and get ten different answers. I am not sure when I contacted them, but it was only a few months ago.

I got it from a Telstra dealer (Telstra Partner) MH.
A young bloke owns (or manages) it. I find him competent and helpful in contrast with the local Telstra corporate shop.

Good to find someone who knows their business Allan. Some at Telstra shop salespeople are not much more than checkout operators.

Forgot to say that when testing connections I found that someone on Vodafail and Optus could NOT send texts to the Iridium phone.

I could ring them and text them but the texts they sent never arrived.

Hi Tom
Thanks for the confirmation.

That link you posted is actually where I got that quote from (it's in the terms and condition PDF at the bottom) I was looking for the call rates when I found it.

I did know that the cellular network is not related to the satellite network however what a completely stupid clause to add to their conditions makes no sense whatsoever and is completely misleading (well as you have confirmed it's actually wrong)

Cheers

Good to know about the Voda and Optus
Appreciate the feedback, could have been quite frustrating.
Cheers

Tom, I'm not so sure about some of that.

The SIM does not need to be "on a plan". It can be a "SIM only" where it provides access only on a month-by-month basis with no calls or data credit included. This is exactly what the '$10 Casual' SIM that I have provides. Although the SIM does not need to be 'on a plan' it does need to be a Postpaid account with International Roaming activated at no additional fee. It cannot be a Prepaid SIM.

Apart from costing ~ $4 minute it behaves as a normal 'mobile' phone. If you can receive Vodaphone and Optus text messages on your mobile then you will receive them on your satphone when using it with your mobile SIM in the satphone.

There may well be "some confusion in the Terms of Use' and I think Telstra (and others) foster this situation. Even selecting "Casual Plans" on the Telstra website produces four plan options ranging from $55 to $130 per month with talk & text credit rolled in but no mention of the $10 per month SIM access fee option with no rolled in credit. They do not wish to make that option too visible because it has less profit potential than "Plans" which have the potential to overrun the usage.

This from a similar thread on Whirlpool

Also keep in mind that once you are on Iridium using 04x or 014 numbers, SMS will only work with another Telstra or Iridium service. Does not work with Optus, etc.....

Which is what I found when testing the phone which was a Motorola 9505A Admittedly it was 4 years ago but things are probably still the same.

Have just rung my son who confirms that I sent a text to his Vodafail phone but I never got the one in reply. My friend on Optus had the same result

"On a plan" terminology usually refers to a Postpaid term account against an account for which you prepay or top up when needed. Whether it is "casual" or not it is still has to be postpaid.

My sim was postpaid $40 a month on a 2 year contract

Allan you did say this in a post down the page, so how is a plan not a plan LOL

Originally used a Telstra $30/month satellite plan but switched to Telstra's $10 month Casual Plan with Roaming activated

Yes Tom, Telstra's expressions can be quite confusing. In fact I find anything to do with Telstra confusing.
But a plan is a plan is a plan!!

yes telstra have blocked SMS to but you can still call which is not rocket science as to why they do this.

I did say all that and also tell your friends about the problems with other providers sending texts to the phone As I found out when testing it

Stephen, Telstra are hopeless. If you can, go through a Telstra Dealer.
See my reply below.

If you do make sure you go to a proper Telstra shop as lots of them are best described as AGENTS and dont know anything about Sat service. At least the ones I went to didnt.

I have found the opposite in my area.

The corporate (proper) Telstra shop are only informed about the mobile phones on display, very little knowledge about wired products and nothing about services, even twice putting me on a phone to talk to an "expert" who was little more help. The staff change regularly.

On the other hand, a Telstra Dealer nearby is operated by a young, informed chap who is only too keen to assist. After all, he owns the business and is either successful or goes broke.

As for talking to Telstra on the phone.......... need I elaborate?

But service is where you find it I guess.

Satellite rates billed to your account for incoming and outgoing calls.

As far as I can remember if calls are from a cellular phone, they pay the normal rate and you pay also for incoming calls.

From the telstra sat elite terms and conditions document"

We charge you the following to receive calls on your satellite service handset/device using a Telstra Mobile (GSM) SIM card (for a service with a telephone number beginning with “04”).

Receiving calls on a cellular mobile (04) service in Australia (per 30 second block) $2.00

Calls to a fixed service in Australia $2.00 per 30 seconds with a 40c connection fee.

Cheers

You are paying for calls being diverted, hence the charge for incoming calls.

I got a Iridium9555 and a Telstra sim with international roaming and it didn't work. Got a Telstra sat phone sim on a cheap plan and it works.

In this instance it appears that you were not a 'Winner'. lol

Give me your phone number and I'll call you from my 9555 with the Telstra "mobile" SIM.

True Alan, I was excited about the whole set up with my post paid plan and Sim as a regular customer with Telstra . The phone would pick up the signals but wouldn't connect. Inserted the sat sim and zzzzappp connected. I don't know why some people do exactly the same thing but doesn't get the same result.

International Roam not enabled is my best guess.
Mine works perfectly.

Where you buy it from shouldnt matter. Its how its configured that matters Post paid(on a Plan) and with international roaming enabled is what makes it work.

I have read on forums like whirlpool that resellers of the Telstra network (such as Aldi for example) don't work.

That is resellers of the Telstra network not to be confused with a Telstra dealer.

Yes would be right as they also dont use the full spectrum of the network

I was thinking of places like Dick Smith who are selling $30 Telstra starter packs for $15 at the moment..

Wanted one for a visitor 3 weeks ago Went to Telstra shop.

Yes sir we have them there will be 45 min wait for a service person.

I only want a simcard I said Sorry you have to wait.

Walked 3 shops along dumped $15 on the counter and out in 3 mins.

Telstra wonder why we dont go to their shops.

The above which is totally ridiculous is why

Exactly Tom!

Yes Nickoff.
Mine is a post-paid SIM purchased from a Telstra dealer. It works just fine.

It will if International Roaming is enabled.

However this is not always enabled by default and you have to ring and ask them to do it for you.

The reason being that if it is and you go overseas it could cost you $$$$$$$ if you use your phone and not realise whats going on.

So they normally dont do it unless you ask for it.

Thanks for that Kev.

In regard to your expression... "$15 a month gets you a plan on other networks that have a standard mobile number." I cannot find this option on your website. Could you point me to it please?

Hi Allan, check out the Thuraya and Globalstar plans. Naturally this means a change of handset if you already own an Iridium unit. Hoever, the ongoing savings can be significant, especially as there are no lock in contracts like some providers offer.

Unfortunately Iridium has always been expensive to buy and run. Perhaps with very fierce competition in today's market they will bring their prices down?

Kev

A "change of handset"???
No thanks, I'll stick with Iridium.

Some users have been using the Telstra sim method for about 7 years and its from 7 to 5 years ago I had mine. At the amount they charge for calls to and from them probably the $ gains outweigh the negatives.

I was also told it wouldnt work by Telstra but with minor deficiencies it has.

I only ever made about 6 calls from it so for a cost of $24 and got my money back when I sold it I think it was a good deal.

Hi Kev
Thanks for the info but I don't know if I would call this "loop hole" given that it expressly states the call rates for using a Telstra GSM SIM in an iridium phone. That would seem to me to be an acknowledgement that the practice is in fact acceptable if not preferred.

Likewise if they wanted to prevent this from occurring I imagine it would be a simple fix on their part but given that they allow the practice and have done so for quite some time and given that the main if not only reason most people use this approach is for emergency situations I highly doubt Telstra would discontinue the service at least not without significant notice. They would simply be putting lives at risk.

Anyway for those following this thread, I shall call Telstra in the morning and see how I go, I have had to wait because I anticipate it wont be a quick phone cal.

Cheers

Sat Phone Sales can you please provide which Iridium phone/provider has locked their network therefore not allowing a Telstra sim to not work ?

Stephen I wouldnt rattle their chain as the muppets you get on the phone barely know enough to answer easy questions.
If they escalate it something may get done to stop it.

I tried all the different departments and didnt get a satisfactory answer and was basically told it wont work but try it if you want to.

I did and it did so just used it and didnt bother them again.

As you say they give pricing for doing it this way so must be allowable. Never kick a sleeping dog LOL

Hi dean (SA), I don't know if there is such a thing as a list of providers that lock phones to certain SIM cards. I doubt it as many don't like to advertise this practice. Locking phones to providers is done in the mobile market commonly also, even by the big providers like Optus and Telstra.

I can only relate instances we have seen - it doesn't happen often as we, in general, don't deal in second hand phones unless they have been workshop tested.

Recently we had a customer order an Iridium SIM / plan for an Ebay purchase. Nothing would get that phone connecting, our provider advised the phone had been locked. Another customer with an Inmarsat phone purchased airtime and we sent him a free SIM. On insertion the phone indicated the unit had been locked to another providers SIM. What was unusual here was that the phone had been purchased new from an Australian retailer (that's still doing this) and the customer had not been advised the handset was locked to a particular SIM. They did agree to unlock the unit, "free of charge" but the customer was without the phone for over a week and had to pay postage to have his phone returned to normal functionality.

Dodgy practice at best and possibly one Fair Trading would view very unfavourably.

So it does happen, but as far as a "list" goes - I doubt it. Obviously some of these companies don't advertise their "grey" activities.

I guess it's - buy your handset from a reputable source. Always ask if the handset has been locked and make sure you have a warranty if anything goes wrong. ANY repair on satellite phones is horribly expensive - even a battery, up to $200 for an Iridium handset and some older model batteries are simply no longer available.

Kev

Ok thanks.
Dunno if you can get genuine batterys for a 9505a but I bought a generic one off ebay for about $40 a couple of years ago.
So far so good but will interesting to see if I get 8 years from it like the genuine.