A question often asked in the world of global communications is the difference between cell phones and a satellite phone.

We have all become familiar with the use of satellite technology as part of our daily lives through the use of satellite television in our homes and satellite navigation in our cars and vehicles.

Satellite communication has played a very important role in space travel and discovery, however, for the last two decades it has also played a very important role in communication on earth, allowing communications to reach the most remote areas of civilization both on land and at sea.

The two pieces of technology are ultimately designed to perform the same operation, which is to provide a communication tool between two parties.
However, the way they operate based on the underlying technology platform couldn’t be more different.

The first satellite phone was introduced to the market in the early 1990s. However, mobile phones were found to be the more attractive proposition due to the fact that satellite phone companies had problems with the satellite network, which It meant problems with coverage, dropped calls, and call quality.

There are two main satellite infrastructures that service satellite phones. These are known as Iridium and Globalstar, which between them do not have a server with more than 200,000 clients.

The main difference between a satellite phone and a mobile phone is the infrastructure they use to communicate with other devices. A satellite phone sits in a network of satellites that orbit the earth. This allows for global coverage as signals pass from one satellite to another to connect devices around the world. However, a mobile phone uses static transmitters installed on the ground. This means that coverage in remote areas or at sea is nearly impossible. This is why mobile phones are not viable solutions when it comes to crisis management or remote workers. Very often, a satellite phone is the only option to ensure communication between a base camp and remote workers.

Many satellite phones use a network of low earth orbit satellites. This means signals have less distance to travel, resulting in better coverage and better call quality. However, in some circumstances, satellites almost 50,000 km above the earth are used to transmit signals to other satellites.

Naturally, the vast difference in infrastructure means that satellite phones can be more expensive to use than mobile phones and this is probably why they have not been more successful in the common market, especially with mobile operators cutting back. the cost of rentals. and call in time to compete with the competition.

Perhaps the only disadvantage of the Satphone is that it requires a direct line of sight to the satellite. Therefore, in a dense area, such as a rain forest or downtown, call quality may suffer or you may experience a higher than usual dropped call rate.