Satellite mobiles down in price, size

TELSTRA is fond of saying its Next G third-generation mobile network, Australia's biggest, provides coverage to 99 per cent of the population.

Perhaps it does, although Doubleclick still occasionally hears a grumble from a peeved cocky who can't get reception on his tractor out in the paddock.

Certainly Doubleclick has had pretty good experiences latching on to Next G on camping trips in the NSW bush, and even getting quite speedy broadband reception on a laptop while rumbling along the tracks in a CountryLink train.

But 99 per cent of the population doesn't mean 99 per cent of Australia: far from it. A glance at Next G's coverage maps show more than half the continent - especially in outback Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland - beyond the reach of Next G, or any other terrestrial phone service, come to that.

So what happens if you're living in, or travelling through, those regions and need to stay connected? A surprising number of people do, including minerals explorers, station hands, road gangs, surveyors, professional fishermen and boating enthusiasts, indigenous people and adventurous outback travellers.

One answer is satellite mobile services. Until now there have been two major services on offer in Australia - Iridium and Globalstar - and both have had their problems. The handsets are bulky, the service slow and connections drop out when you're indoors, under large trees or sometimes even if it's cloudy.

In addition Optus has offered hefty vehicle-mounted satellite phones connecting to its own satellites. It's an expensive service, with phones and ancillary equipment typically costing more than $7000, so it's not for the light-hearted, or the light-of-wallet.

Times and technologies change, however. Optus is about to introduce a completely new satellite service that should be cheaper and feature the kind of mobiles you can slip into a pocket.

Telstra's main rival has done a deal with Thuraya, a 10-year-old satellite operator based in Abu Dhabi, to bring its interesting service here.

Thuraya has just three Boeing-built satellites in place; the last, covering Australia, was sent up aboard a Sea Launch rocket in January. They're very high up - 35,786km out in geosynchronous orbit, so a big fleet is not needed. By contrast, Iridium needs a fleet of 66 satellites constantly orbiting some 800km above Earth to provide coverage.

The three Thuraya birds do not cover the Americas, but they do throw to 110 countries across most of Asia, Europe, northern Africa and now the Pacific, including Australia.

Thuraya's handsets are nothing like the usual satellite bricks. They are as small, light and natty as any mobile in the city markets. They have colour screens, cameras, GPS and Bluetooth.

Most also do double duty. They'll latch on to the conventional Optus GSM/GPRS network when in range of a tower, then switch to satellite when out of GSM range.

Buyers can use them for voice calls, data, fax, SMS messaging and GPS navigation services - just about everything your intrepid outback traveller might need. Yes, you should be able to dial 000 in an emergency.

Will they connect to the satellite when you're indoors or under the trees?

We'll have to wait and see on that one, as the phones won't be available until later this month.

We'll also have to wait and see details of pricing, which was still to be announced as Doubleclick was writing. As a clue, Iridium users typically pay $1.65 a minute for calls within Australia, and $2.70 a minute to other countries.

Buyers will also need to ante up cash for the handset of their choice and probably an activation fee and a monthly access fee. Optus intends to offer two handsets: a dual GSM-satellite model, and one satellite only.

If you live beyond the reach of conventional terrestrial mobile services, or spend more than 120 days a year there, you could qualify for a government subsidy of the handset price.

This is a beauty: approved applicants get back up to 60 per cent of the retail price, up to a maximum $1000, but you need to apply and be approved, before you buy the handset.

Optus says the Thuraya satellite phones will be available nationally through Optus MobileSat dealerships and Optus Business sales channels in August. Later in the year you'll be able to pick one up at the more plentiful Optus World retail stores.

Other gadgets for the Thuraya service, including portable high-speed data terminals and marine kits are said to be coming "in the future".

davfrith@gmail.com