Thankyou very much for the Iridium Satellite Telephone you rented to me during the month of February and into March 2008. I needed the phone to substitute for a High Frequency Radio installation in an aircraft I was ferrying from Australia to the United Kingdom via Singapore. Your rental agreement and special offer were extremely cost effective when compared to either hiring or buying an HF radio.
The particularly important aspect of Iridium is the reception far out to sea and in the remote over land areas in Australia. Use of the phone was intuitive, and despite very loud cockpit noise levels in our piston engine aircraft, comfortable voice communication was possible throughout.
We used the telephone successfully to communicate with Air Traffic Control when outside of radio range, and it proved invaluable when approaching Singapore from Indonesia. Our arrival at Singapore was looking like being later than the airfield closure time, so it was a great relief to be able to call the Control Tower and ask them to remain open.
The signal and reception were excellent throughout the transit to Singapore, where I handed the aircraft over to a pilot from the UK. He reported similar success over the full route, although much of his flight was completed over land and within mobile phone coverage, so his need was less critical than the largely over water and outback Australia transit to Singapore.
If you need a recommendation for the Iridium network and for your service please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be delighted to assist.
David Baddams Sales Director
Britten-Norman Pty Ltd
Thankyou again for your assistance in providing me with Satellite communications at such short notice for my recent Voyage.
I ended up spending a month on the MY Steve Irwin in Antarctica with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Iridium Phone was invaluable during this period.
Due to the technology, I was able to stay in contact with my work and expecting Wife. The handset proved to be perfect for the smaller craft and was invaluable to the boat crews during the campaign and various missions.
I will definitely be in contact for the next campaign.