A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travel Regions » Africa
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old April 27th, 2004, 06:19 AM
BZH
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

Cellular Phones can be used all over Africa. Rent at Johannesburg airport or
elsewhere. See links below.
http://www.vodacom.co.za/useful_serv...g_partners.asp


  #2  
Old April 27th, 2004, 08:52 AM
Marc Lurie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

There are large parts of Botswana that are not covered by the
cellphone network, although the network is growing steadily. The best
people to contact in Johannesburg are Blue Sky Satellite
Communications. Their number is +27 11 432-0075. Speak to Pedro the
owner by phone, or e-mail him at

I'd suggest using the Iridium network.

By the way, for the information of "BZH", almost all African countries
have a cellular network, but these networks only work in areas where
there is network infrastructure. In most rural areas there is no
cellular coverage at all. Even South Africa still has areas with no
coverage.

Marc - Johannesburg

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 07:19:11 +0200, "BZH" wrote:

Cellular Phones can be used all over Africa. Rent at Johannesburg airport or
elsewhere. See links below.
http://www.vodacom.co.za/useful_serv...g_partners.asp


  #3  
Old April 27th, 2004, 03:36 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

Marc Lurie wrote:

I'd suggest using the Iridium network.


Marc,

certainly not a bad choice (among the very few), but do keep an
eye on Thuraya as well. They are only half as expensive (through
using only 1 or 2 geostationary satellites).

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
  #4  
Old April 28th, 2004, 10:36 AM
Marc Lurie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

AFAIK Thuraya will not operate in Botswana and several other SADC
countries. Something to do with licensing and regulation. I'll try to
find out, and post to the NG.

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 16:36:21 +0200, Hans-Georg Michna
wrote:

Marc Lurie wrote:

I'd suggest using the Iridium network.


Marc,

certainly not a bad choice (among the very few), but do keep an
eye on Thuraya as well. They are only half as expensive (through
using only 1 or 2 geostationary satellites).

Hans-Georg


  #5  
Old April 28th, 2004, 05:19 PM
B Vaughan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 16:36:21 +0200, Hans-Georg Michna
wrote:

Marc Lurie wrote:

I'd suggest using the Iridium network.


Marc,

certainly not a bad choice (among the very few), but do keep an
eye on Thuraya as well. They are only half as expensive (through
using only 1 or 2 geostationary satellites).


My daughter, who is living in Ghana at the moment, has had bad luck
with Thuraya phones. The last one she bought is away in Europe being
repaired right now, having ceased to function shortly after she bought
it.
--------
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.
  #6  
Old April 29th, 2004, 01:52 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

Marc Lurie wrote:

AFAIK Thuraya will not operate in Botswana and several other SADC
countries. Something to do with licensing and regulation. I'll try to
find out, and post to the NG.


Marc,

oh, I didn't know. But actually I can't quite believe it. I
thought Thuraya phones do not even have any positioning
capability, so they would technically work.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
  #7  
Old April 29th, 2004, 01:52 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

B wrote:

My daughter, who is living in Ghana at the moment, has had bad luck
with Thuraya phones. The last one she bought is away in Europe being
repaired right now, having ceased to function shortly after she bought
it.


Barbara,

thanks, but you can't draw any conclusions from a single case.
Every type of electronics has a certain likelihood of failure.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
  #8  
Old April 29th, 2004, 02:41 PM
Marc Lurie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

You may be quite correct that they will actually work here, but
they're definitely currently illegal to use.

I'm investigating....

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 14:52:20 +0200, Hans-Georg Michna
wrote:

Marc Lurie wrote:

AFAIK Thuraya will not operate in Botswana and several other SADC
countries. Something to do with licensing and regulation. I'll try to
find out, and post to the NG.


Marc,

oh, I didn't know. But actually I can't quite believe it. I
thought Thuraya phones do not even have any positioning
capability, so they would technically work.

Hans-Georg


  #9  
Old April 29th, 2004, 02:58 PM
Marc Lurie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

I've been on Thuraya's website, and they steer well away from even
suggesting that they cover Southern and East Africa. The following is
their list of countries that they cover:

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra
Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain
Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Benin
Bhutan Bosnia Herzegovina Bulgaria
Burkina Faso Cameroon Central African Republic
Chad Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic
Denmark Djibouti Egypt Eritrea
Estonia Ethiopia FR of Yugoslavia
France Gambia Georgia Germany
Ghana Gibraltar Greece Guernsey
Guinea Guinea Bissau Hungary India
Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man
Italy Ivory Coast Jersey Jordan
Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrghyzstan Latvia
Lebanon Liberia Libya Liechtenstein
Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Mali
Malta Mauritania Moldova Monaco
Morocco Nepal Netherlands Niger
Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestine
Poland Portugal Qatar Romania
Russia Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone
Slovakia Slovenia Somalia Spain
Sri Lanka Sudan Switzerland Syria
Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey
Turkmenistan Ukraine United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom Uzbekistan Yemen

Regards,
Marc


On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 14:52:20 +0200, Hans-Georg Michna
wrote:

Marc Lurie wrote:

AFAIK Thuraya will not operate in Botswana and several other SADC
countries. Something to do with licensing and regulation. I'll try to
find out, and post to the NG.


Marc,

oh, I didn't know. But actually I can't quite believe it. I
thought Thuraya phones do not even have any positioning
capability, so they would technically work.

Hans-Georg


  #10  
Old April 29th, 2004, 07:22 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Renting a Satellite Phone for Botswana travel?

Marc Lurie wrote:

I've been on Thuraya's website, and they steer well away from even
suggesting that they cover Southern and East Africa.


Marc,

that's more or less nonsense, as I know more than one person
using a Thuraya satphone in Kenya.

Illegal? We're all illegal anyway.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:30 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.