Isatphone Pro

Office: Anna 0410 506 709, Peter: 0415 263 750 (24/7), Caroline: 0415 940 939, Landline: 02 4997 8183, Email Contact: info@epirbhire.com.au

Rent or hire the Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro.

The cost to hire the IsatPhone Pro and now the IsatPhone2 is $140 for 1 week, $185 for 10 days, $230 2 weeks.
(for longer periods please call - it gets cheaper) Includes $10 in free calls
The outgoing call costs are the cheapest on the market at $1.30 per minute to any mobile or landline on the planet. (please note the $1.30 offer on calls is limited on some handsets, please let us know if you want to make a lot of calls - we need to know before we send the phone)
Call us for a quote on longer term hire, as the longer you have it the cheaper it gets - this will also apply for multiple hires and repeat business.

Thank you for choosing EPIRBhire for your Satellite phone requirements.
This page is predominantly about the Inmarsat Satellite network using the IsatPhone Pro handset.
For information on renting the Iridium 9555 or 9575 click here.

First a quick word about what to expect from an Inmarsat Satellite phone.

When you make a call the handset talks to a satellite 35,000km up in the sky. Inmarsat have 3 stationary satellite on the equator, one above PNG, one above Africa and one just south of Mexico.
This amazing technology allows you to make a phone call from anywhere in the world, except inside a house and in the polar regions. So for obvious reasons the handset needs a clear view of the sky.
Calls do drop out and sometimes you will need to dial twice. Having said all that, overall you will find it very reliable.
We have found SMS and email technology ($.65 each outgoing) is a great way for people to communicate with you.
We have many clients needing weather information for bushwalks and yacht deliveries, a very successful solution is to have a friend send regular SMS/email with the appropriate information required.

The IsatPhone has an emergency personal alert and GPS position sending facility - once you have reception all you do is hold down the * and # key. This will send your position via a pre programmed (by you) email or SMS to the person of your choice. Although if I had an emergency I would call not SMS, or at least call first then send the location via SMS.

*Outgoing call costs
We load the phone with call credits, so there is no risk in accumulating a massive bill.
Outgoing calls are $1.30 per minute to any IsatPhone, mobile or landline in the world and $0.65 per SMS/email. The cost to call another companies Satellite phone network is expensive. Please see our PDF on call costs for more details. We can easily load more credit if needed.

How to rent a phone from EPIRBhire.
Please feel free to call or email and we can email a hire agreement.
We can normally deliver Australia wide within 24/48 hours although we prefer not to rush things. We will only charge you from the day you need it to the day we get it back, if we are able to send it a day or so before you need it we will not charge you, and it takes out any last minute problems.

You can download a hire agreement from the links below, fill it in, sign it, then scan it and email to info@epirbhire.com.au

Click here for hire contract in PDF or
Click here to download a word doc
other downloads
Instructions

Hire or rent the IsatPhone Pro from $140.
The longer you rent the cheaper it gets - call for a quote.

The call costs are $1.30 per minute to any mobile or landline in the world*.

Please call Peter 0415 263 750 for more info.

Inmarsat is one of the world's largest satellite phone companies. http://www.inmarsat.com/

With three stationary satellites inline with the equator (above PNG, Africa and East Pacific) the Inmarsat has excellent clear reception for most users - outside the polar regions.

The IsatPhone Pro is a very impressive unit. It boasts clear reception, a long battery life (8hrs Talk/100 Standby), a robust handset (for extreme conditions) and the first satellite phone to support Bluetooth.

With the advantage of one of Inmarsat's three stationary satellites being above PNG, the reception is excellent in Australia. We are very impressed with the call quality and reliability.

Satellite communication is not as convenient as our mobile phones, but it is getting close.

The IsatPhone Pro needs to be treated more as a computer styled communications device rather than a mobile phone. This is mainly due to the procedure involved in "logging on".

Firstly you need to be able to "see" the Satellite, in our case, one is 35,000km above PNG, the IsatPhone Pro will need to send it's GPS location to the Satellite, so just like the car GPS navigator it will take a little while (our average test time is 1min 40 sec) to do this. A clear view of the sky will speed up this process. Once the GPS location has been established the Satellite the phone will communicate via a spot beam to that location. Once connected voice, email and SMS communication is excellent.

We have been testing the IsatPhone Pro and we like it for all the reasons they say in the glossy brochure.

Features we especially like.....

The GPS function allows you to email or SMS your location.

The phone has it's own email address e.g. 87077642xxxx@message.inmarsat.com

It is the ideal outbound communication tool.

Note - if you have a hill between you and the Satellite it won't work. With three satellites covering the globe, our local is 35,000km above PNG. So if you are in Hobart it is 40 degrees above the north horizon (Brisbane 56d, Perth 43d). The phone needs to see the satellite, so unlike the Iridium you can't leave it on the dash of the car and wait for a call. The IsatPhone is best suited for making outbound calls/emails/SMS as and when you need to. The incoming calls are expensive to the caller (no cost to you). We feel the cost of the incoming call is not really an issue as the IsatPhone Pro will not stay connected to the satellite if the antenna is down and/or if you are moving around with the phone in your back pocket. We found it was ideal using emails as the primary incoming comms.

Click here to download a brochure

http://www.inmarsat.com/services/IsatPhoneProInmarsat

Features of the IsatPhone Pro include voicemail, text, Bluetooth, email messaging and GPS location data.
Battery life: up to 8 hours talk time and up to 100 hours standby time.
Operates at -20° to 55°C; dust, splash and shock resistant.

The data can be done.
It has been a struggle to make it happen with very inconsistent results. Although I have managed to download GRIB files, slow but it worked. Downloading GRIB files is a great asset I will continue to refine the process and let you know.

Emergency Numbers to use when calling from the IsatPhone

Users located in Australia or its territorial waters (up to 200 nautical miles off-shore) to dial either 000 or 112 and be routed through to the local Australian emergency call centre.

Other numbers that may be of use.

Australian Rescue Coordination Centre (AMSA) in Canberra (24Hrs) +61 2 6230 6811

Royal Flying Doctor Service.
    - Emergency Numbers (24 Hour Medical & Emergency calls)
    - Western Operations WA (24 Hour Medical & Emergency calls) + 61 8 9417 6389
    - Central Operations SA & NT* Port Augusta Base + 61 8 8648 9555 (note *NT everything south of Tennant Creek)
    - Queensland Section
            Charleville Base +61 7 4654 1443; Mt Isa Base + 61 7 4743 2802; Cairns Base + 61 7 4040 0500
    - South Eastern Section NSW, VIC, TAS Broken Hill Base +61 8 8088 1188

Poison Information Centre +61 13 11 26 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

If there is any way you feel we could do things better, we listen to, and welcome all suggestions.

Be careful when calling a different satellite provider from another satellite phone,
if you are calling numbers starting with +8816, +0147, +8707... it can be a very expensive call.

speak to us for more details.

General Terms and Conditions of Hire for Satellite phone and BGAN units.

1. Interpretation

a) ‘Company’ means EPIRBhire and its employees and agents.

b) ‘Contract’ means the Contract comprised of the particulars set out on the face of this document.

c) ‘Customer’ means and includes the Company, firm or person, the name of which is set out on the face of this document as the Customer and any person whether as employees, agent or otherwise, who makes this Contract on behalf of such company, firm or person.

d) ‘Equipment’ means the goods specified on the face of this document as the subject of this Contract.

2. Proper Use and Ownership of Equipment.

The Customer shall at all times use the Equipment in a skilful and proper manner for the purposes intended, and in the manner recommended, by the manufacturer. The Customer agrees and acknowledges that at all times the Equipment is and remains the property of the Company. During the period of hire, the Customer shall not sell, lease, pledge, assign, transfer, part with possession of or deal with Equipment in any manner which may affect, directly or indirectly, the Company’s ownership of the Equipment.

3. Customer Acknowledgment of Quality.

The Customer acknowledges having:

a) selected the Equipment without relying on the skill or judgment or any advice from the Company as to the fitness of the Equipment for any particular purposes of the Customer;

b) inspected the Equipment prior to taking delivery of it; and

c) satisfied itself as to the quality and fitness of the Equipment for the purposes of the Customer.

4. Breakdown and Damage.

The Customer shall be responsible for any loss or damage to the Equipment for any reason whatsoever except loss or damage as a result of reasonable wear and tear. In the event of breakdown or failure of the Equipment the Customer shall notify the company and shall return the Equipment to the Company’s or agents premises as soon as practical. On no account shall the Customer repair or attempt to repair or cause someone else to repair the Equipment without the prior written consent of the Company.

The liability of the Company in respect of any matter arising out of the application of Division 2 of Part V of the Trade Practices Act or any other applicable legislation is limited at the option of the Company to:

a) the replacement of the Equipment or the supply of equivalent Equipment; or

b) the repair of the Equipment

and the period of the hiring shall be suspended during the period from return of the defective Equipment to the Company until re-delivery of the Equipment to the Customer in accordance with this clause.

The company will refund at its discretion the downtime value on inspection of the faulty equipment. Should the equipment be faulty due to misuse, the customer will be responsible for the repair costs.

In no other event shall the Company be liable to the Customer on any account whatsoever, whether as a result of wear and tear or any defect in the Equipment or any negligence by the Company, for any loss or damage whatsoever including consequential loss or damage and whether or not foreseeable or contemplated by any of the parties.

5. Call Charges on Satellite Phones

Call costs are calculated on a per unit basis. The phone will be credited with at least 100 units. Please see rates sheet for unit usage.
Inmarsat hand set $750; 240v Charger $150; 12v Charger $110.

5a. Data and Call Charges on BGAN

Call costs are calculated and charged in blocks. All call costs will be charged to your credit card. The customer gives the company authority to hold and debit any amount from their credit card for the purpose of bond against loss of or damage to equipment and for payment of data and call charges.
Indicative costs to replace equipment.
BGAN Antenna base unit $2000; 240v Charger $130;

6. Return of Equipment

The Customer shall return the Equipment to the Company on or before the due date as shown on the invoice in good order and condition, including being properly cleaned.

EPIRBhire
Po Box 99
BULAHDELAH NSW 2104
Phone : 02 4997 8183
Ph : 0415 263 750
Email: info@epirbhire.com.au

7. Period of Hire

The period of hire shall commence from the time the Equipment is delivered to the Customer and will cease when the Equipment is returned to the Company. The Equipment shall be deemed to have been duly delivered and returned if delivered and returned to the Company’s premises during the Company’s business hours in the manner set out in the invoice. Where the Company agrees in writing that it will accept return of the Equipment other than at the Company’s premises, the Customer shall remain responsible for the Equipment until the earlier of such time as the Company collects the Equipment or the expiry of five (5) days from after the date agreed for collection.

8. Payment of Hiring Charges.

The Customer shall immediately pay to the Company the hiring charges set out on this invoice at the beginning of the period of hire. The Company reserves the right to vary the hiring charges at any time after expiration of the initial period as set out overleaf and any variation shall be effective immediately upon and after notification in writing to the Customer at the Customer’s address or at any place where the Equipment is being used.

The Customer shall pay or reimburse to the Company on demand all stamp duty or other statutory charges payable in connection with the Contract, the cost of all consumable items supplied by the Company used up in the use of the Equipment and the cost of all freight and delivery charges incurred by the Company in the delivery of the Equipment to the Customer or the return of the Equipment to the Company.

For the purposes of re-possessing the Equipment pursuant to this clause, the Company may enter upon or into any premises where the Equipment may be without notice to the Customer

This agreement indemnifies the Company in respect of any claims, damages or expenses arising out of any such action. Repossession of the Equipment by or on behalf of the Company shall be without prejudice to any other rights of the Company arising out of this Contract.

9. Deposit.

The Company shall hold the deposit as security for the due performance by the Customer of its obligations and may apply the whole or part of the deposit at any time against moneys due but unpaid or any expenses, loss or damage incurred by the Company as a result of a failure by the Customer to perform properly its obligations. Application by the Company of the whole or any part of the deposit pursuant to this clause shall be without prejudice to any other rights of the Company arising out of this Contract.

10. No Assignment of Contract.

This Contract is personal to the Customer and the Customer shall not transfer or assign or purport or attempt to transfer or assign the benefit of this Contract to any other person without the prior written consent of the Company.

11. Customer Authority

The Customer warrants that it has full authority to enter into this Contract for itself and any employer principal or other person named overleaf and that the information set out in this invoice is true and correct.

12. Safety.

The company shall not be responsible for damage to person or property including vehicles caused from the use or misuse of hired equipment.

The Customer acknowledges that it has received from the Company advice, information or items (or all of them), which relate to the safe operation and use of the Equipment. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Customer indemnifies the Company from any loss, claim, expense, damage, cost or proceeding which may arise as a result, directly or indirectly, of the failure of the Customer to act in accordance with that advice or information and or to use in a proper manner as specified by the Company those items or any of them. Apart from the advice, information or items referred to in this Clause, the Customer acknowledges that in connection with the Equipment and its use, it is solely responsible for obtaining all advice or information necessary for the safety of and the safe use of the Equipment and for the provision and proper use of all items, tools, plant or other devices necessary for the safe use of the Equipment.

13. Satellite Phone Safety.

The customer acknowledges that driving a motor vehicle whilst using a mobile phone including a Satellite phone is against the law in Australia and agrees to abide by these laws and conditions. The customer also agrees that when driving in vehicles, it is the sole responsibility of the driver of the vehicle to operate the vehicle in a safe manner, maintain full surveillance of all driving conditions at all times, and may not become distracted by a mobile or satellite phones.

14. Extra info

Inmarsat is prohibited from providing products and service to some countries. At present these include (and are subject to change): Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Poland. Therefore, use of your Satellite phone in some countries may be illegal.