One more item, when I had more time for sailing, some of the hard core folks insisted on using Inmarsat for their communication. I'm not sure, but it may be a cheaper solution as far as satellite phones go. The difference is in technology. Inmarsat's satellites are stationary above the earth and while they said it takes a much longer time to lock in, they were able to have a conversation for well over an hour while my headset usually is good for about 10-15 minutes as the satellites are much closer and orbit, so if one disappears over a mountain and doesn't do a proper handoff to the next one, your call is dropped. Also, their satellites are far, like very far, about 22,000 miles from earth, so you have that annoying 1/4 second delay when having a conversation. That still blows my mind though that a handheld transmitter on a boat can send a signal to a device 22,000 miles away, essentially putting the distance between you and whoever you are talking to at 44,000 miles.