Ever turned a corner on a long road in the outback only to suddenly find you no longer have reception ? You either can ’ t reply to a text , or a phone call . It ’ s frustrating , but what would happen if something more serious was to occur ? What if your maps stopped working and you became lost , or your car broke down ? What if the worst happened and you were unwell or you saw someone stranded and in need of urgent assistance ?

With over 80 per cent of Australia outside of mobile reception , it ’ s important to be able to retain communication with family , friends and emergency services in case of an emergency .

There are four major satellite communication networks available in Australia : Iridium , Inmarsat , Thuraya and Globalstar . In this article , we will mainly focus on products that work on the Iridium network . Most other networks use satellites in geostationary orbit , about 35,000km from Earth . The Iridium constellation is in lowearth orbit , around 780km from Earth . It is comprised of 66 satellites in constant motion , providing excellent coverage anywhere on the globe , including the polar regions . While other networks will certainly provide coverage , Iridium is considered a very good choice for Australia .

48 \