AT&T to launch satellite phone plans

Interesting. We'll keep a watch on this one.

cheers

It is just one satellite and will provide coverage only in north america.

I will be watching this!

Than I can here all manner of assholes talking on their cellphones when I'm on the trail too. Wont that be splendid.

"I know right? Can you believe I have reception in the middle of Appalachians, well you see I have this new AT&T satellite phone, oh you absolutely have to get one… Well of course it cost a bundle, but I mean isn't it worth it to be… safe."

I can see businessmen doing their dirty deals while on the trail, doctors diagnosing patients, telephone sex operators forcing me to mask the ears of my children as we innocently hike down the trail, where will it all end? STOP THE MADNESS!

AT&T just announced their satellite phone service that will be up and running the first quarter of 2010. No word on prices for the service or phone. No exact weight, but judging from the photos, the size is comparable to a Blackberry. It runs Windows Mobile and also has a GPS. Businesses and government will be the first to have an option to sign up for a plan. Consumers will have a chance later.

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Maybe BPL should lobby to have the plans be smart enough to increase the cost of satellite connections to, say, $10 per minute when the caller is in a national park or designated wilderness area. That way there is a DISincentive to deter users from talking all day, and an incentive for AT&T to provide good coverage, so emergency use is available… ain't economics grand!?

nm

New Mexico??? ;-)

I love the Luddites that come out to complain about cell phone use yet don't see it weird that they are posting online.

Frankly, for those who are so disturbed lets look at some facts: satellite phones are not cheap, neither are the plans. Unless a person has money to burn they are not going to be using one all the time time – the battery life as well is low. You almost always have to be in a spot, not moving to get a good connection – if you were say running, you would lose connection.

Your chances of meeting someone with one is very low. And a big woo-pee if you meet one person with the money to burn.

And yeah, you might check to see if your regular cell phone works these days out there. Quite shocking how often you can send a text nowdays….even in so called remote areas. Many NP's have cell towers hidden…oh you didn't know that? Oops.

Not to mention that there are people who simply must be reachable at almost any time. So what are they supposed to do? Not hike? I lose enough weekends simply by having a patient admitted to the hospital- I don't want to lose any more.

This sounds like a decent deal to me. It'll prevent my asking favors of my partners.

Now, if only it could be integrated with a SPOT tracker in one unit… :o)

cell phones are so bad, satellite phones are so bad!!!

If you don't like them, don't carry one. If others are hiking around you using one, you obviously didn't plan your trip well enough for the solitude you wanted. Why would you really care what someone else is doing? Underlying jealously?

I don't carry a cell phone, just my SPOT, but there are times when people need to be reachable and if you can afford a sat phone then good for you.

Twitter is already working on it – http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/geolocation_support_twitter_imminent

If SPOT is smart, they better have plans for a smartphone app, or they might go the way of the Dodo.

I understand and agree with many of the comments about annoying people on cellphones, but its all in how you look at it. You can see it as extra annoyances on the trail, or extra fire lookouts, deputy rangers, etc. Maybe it will take away that last excuse for a friend to go out in the wilderness with you and they realize how nice it is to be away from the cellphones and traffic? I think that it will mostly be businesses and avid adventures who spend the extra money for the service and phone. Most people never get out of cell range anyways.

Justin writes:
"Most people never get out of cell range anyways."

That just is not true in the mountains of the western US. I'm almost always out of cell range on backpack trips. I think an affordable sat phone that actually works will be a game changer, especially for solo hiikers. Injured or lost hikers will be rescued quicker, less resources will be expended on SAR, fewer people will die. I don't know how anyone can see it as a negative. That said, with only one satellite (which I assume is geo-stationary) I'm pretty skeptical as to the coverage for this system. It seems unlikely it will work in steep canyons, or the north slope of mountains. But then again I was skeptical about the World Wide Web when I first saw it.

G

If/when it comes down in price I will definitely get one. I never camp near enough anyone else to be a nuisance talking on my phone or to myself, anyways, and it would be SO nice to check in with partner while away for a few days.

Cure for loneliness, as well as a safety mechanism. Sounds great to me. Doubtful people will be chatting it up on the trail. Just doesn't seem that feasible. I think the worriers here are a bit ridiculous. (And if people talking bothers you *that* much, plan accordingly and get off trail! [Where you might, incidentally, want a satellite phone in case of an emergency.])