Understanding Iridium Airtime
If you are looking to embark on an off-grid adventure to somewhere far away, remote, or isolated, the chances are there won’t be much or any phone reception available. Your smartphone will likely be out of action unless you can connect it to localised WiFi. Assuming there is no traditional cellular phone network to connect to, a satellite phone is the ideal solution for staying reliably connected. And if you have an Iridium satellite phone, you will need to make sure it has enough Iridium airtime applied to it to last you your trip.
Comparing Prepaid Options
At GTC we offer a wide variety of Iridium sat phone top-ups in the form of pre-paid bundles or vouchers. These vouchers come with allotted minutes already on them so that you can only use what you pay for. Iridium prepaid satellite airtime is the best approach for staying reliably connected on short-to-medium term trips. You are not tied into a rolling contract, so once you run out of prepaid minutes, you will need to either extend your voucher or top-up your device with more airtime. This gives maximum flexibility for excursions or adventures that are only a matter of weeks or months.
Cost and Usage Considerations
Of course, some planning needs to be made ahead of schedule in terms of when you are likely to use your satellite phone. If possible, try and plan when you will make calls and how long they might be. This will help give you a total usage time and will therefore allow you to budget accordingly. Some people, particularly solo travellers or adventurers, like to schedule daily check-in calls with nearby emergency stations or with loved ones back home. Because such calls might put a financial strain on your Iridium SIM card, they might only last a total of five minutes each, but serve to deliver vital peace of mind to both sides of the conversation.
Activation and Usage Process
Once you have purchased your desired Iridium airtime voucher, it will need to be activated before you can start making calls or data connections from your Iridium device. Your Iridium SIM can be activated by contacting GTC and telling us your ICCID number (beginning 898, printed on the SIM). Iridium activations are usually completed within half an hour. You then need to make sure you use all of your purchased minutes and data before the validity period expires. If the validity is not extended then your SIM card will expire and become unusable. Any minutes remaining will be lost and your SIM will enter a 270 day grace period in which you may reactivate the SIM by adding a new voucher, however the original balance will be lost and will not be added to the new balance.
User Experiences and Recommendations
Every day we have customers purchasing new airtime vouchers, extending existing ones, or adding more vouchers to their already-purchased Iridium devices. We are proud to give people the ability to stay reliably connected to the world’s only truly global satellite network. We have people leave reviews, and one customer said the following about Iridium sat phone top-ups:
“I've been using Iridium satellite phones for years and their prepaid airtime vouchers have never let me down. The vouchers are a cost-effective way to stay connected in remote areas. They offer various denominations to suit different needs, and the expiration dates are reasonable. My only gripe is that the activation process can be a bit tricky for newcomers, but once you get the hang of it, it's smooth sailing. Overall, a great product for adventurers and travellers.”
As always, our team of experts is here to help. So, if you need any advice about Iridium airtime, contact us via:
- Email: info@gtc.co.uk
- Phone: 0800 112 3919
