Blackout Satellite Phone — What you currently need to know (December 2022)

We are currently getting a lot of inquiries about satellite phones in relation to emergency commu­ni­ca­tions, disaster response, blackout. Here are our answers to basic questions.

Update June 2023: All devices are available again immedi­ately or within a few days.

• There are 3 serious satellite commu­ni­cation networks: Iridium, Thuraya and Inmarsat. All three networks are basically suitable for use in Central Europe. It is possible to call from any satellite network to any satellite network and also to all fixed and mobile networks, so they are not isolated solutions.
• Commu­ni­cation via satellite is not affected in case of a blackout in Germany, at least as long as the battery of your satellite phone is charged. The network operators’ ground stations are redundant and are located in Arizona and the United Arab Emirates, for example.
• Satellite phones do not work indoors, and do not work well or not at all at the window. They need a clear view all around (Iridium) or a clear view to the south-east (Thuraya and Inmarsat). Even under a tree there can be connection problems. However, there are docking stations and external antennas for all phone models, so that operation is also possible in the office.

Availability of the devices

The avail­ability of the devices is currently improving. (Status: 15. Dec. 2022)

There are two mobile phone models from Iridium: Iridium Extreme 9575 and Iridium 9555. Docking stations and external antennas are available for both phone models so that the devices can also be used indoors. If you are only inter­ested in indoor use, the Iridium LT-3100 might be the right device.

Iridium satellite phones and terminals

1,289.00 € ^*

3,875.00 € ^*

1,549.00 € ^*

Iridium satellite terminals

Another alter­native for an instal­lation in the office are the Iridium MissionLINK 200 and Iridium MissionLINK 700. Both devices provide you with 3 telephone lines and additionally a data connection of 176 respec­tively 704 kbps.

Thuraya and Inmarsat satellite phones

1,089.00 € ^*

589.00 € ^*

869.00 € ^*

Satellite phones

Thuraya is also suitable for the backup of a failure of fixed and mobile networks. The Thuraya XT Lite and the Thuraya XT Pro are the models here. Both are currently available (as of 15. Dec. 2022). You can also use the XT Pro indoors. There are suitable docking stations (FDU) and external antennas. Unfor­tu­nately, the FDU is not available until mid-2023. The XT Lite is the right phone for mobile telephony (no docking station can be connected). As an alter­native office phone, there is the Thuraya MarineStar, including a fixed station and 25m antenna cable and outdoor antenna.

From Inmarsat there is only one phone model, the Inmarsat IsatPhone2. In the meantime, this can also be ordered again at short notice.

Update 15.12.2022
Avail­ability of Iridium devices has been adjusted.

Update 22.06.2023:
All devices are available again immedi­ately or within a few days.