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Mount Everest sat phone skinny
Apr 23, 2004 20: 25 EST
Last week ExplorersWeb wrote about Dr. Luanne Freer and how she set a good example to all expeditions by trying out her tech before getting on the plane to Base Camp. Technology in the mountains is a funny thing, some teams love having it, others hate. Us, well, we love it, in fact we have a whole website dedicated to it, HumanEdgeTech.com!
Tech is also either the first or last thing that expeditions sort out. We’ll get phone calls from climbers who have expeditions planned a year or two ahead, and then we’ll get the calls from the folks leaving in next week. Choosing the right tech is important as different locations and different needs require different solutions.
This year on Everest, the biggest players in terms of satellite connections, data and voice, are the following – Thuraya, RBGAN, and Iridium. A fully loaded team will show up with all three of these devices. Below is an abbreviated description of the best options for an Everest expedition. For a full run down on the solutions as well as how they work with the Contact 2.0 dispatching system, follow the link to the left to HumanEdgeTech.com.
Thuraya handheld
The Thuraya handset is great for chatting and for sending the occasional email or picture. Its data transfer rate is 9.6k, and it’s surprising how good the voice communication is with the phone. At only 220 grams, it’s also very light.
The only issue with the Thuraya is that there have been sporadic temporary cutouts. Two fall seasons ago we heard about it not working for a couple of days and then starting to work again, no explanation.
Last spring there weren’t any reported problems that we heard, but this past fall teams again had some issues, most likely related to increased solar activity and flares. For the record, this solar activity also affected other systems like the Iridium and Inmarsat, and lots of other electronics and other sat phones had problems.
Line of sight
Another consideration about the Thuraya is that it only has one, perhaps two satellites to relay the signal – and they are both relatively close to each other in a geo-synchronous orbit at about the equator. What does this mean for the user?
If you are on the North side of a mountain and there’s something blocking your view of the satellite, the signal won’t be there. Although as the angle (azimuth) of the Thuraya is so good, you can call even if very close to the Everest North wall (as the Everest snow boarders did last year). If you are on Everest you will be aiming the antenna South East to get the best signal.
Last summer an ExplorersWeb correspondent used Thuraya on the North side of Khan Tengri and noticed that at some camps the phone would only get a signal at certain times of the day. Why this is? We don’t know, perhaps it has something to do with the earth’s spin or the satellite possibly rising and lowering in the horizon over the course of the day.
Iridium, the Thuraya backup
A fully loaded team always brings backup. A second Thuraya is great if you break the first one, but won’t help if the system goes down for some reason. The next alternative is the tried and true Iridium phone. It’s bigger, more expensive, uses the battery a lot quicker, and can be cranky with dropped calls and poor reception – but, it’s tried, tested, and works all over the world. The data connection is only 2.4k, so small pictures and text are ok.
If you can only pick one, go with the Thuraya. And if you already have an Iridium and can afford it, consider getting a Thuraya – the difference is night and day.
Data king
One of the newest players to get out there is the RBGAN. While it doesn’t offer voice capability, it packs a huge data punch - 144kb/s. Also it’s a great deal cost wise.
From HumanEdgeTech.com; “A low estimate for an expedition with daily internet updates is a transfer of 200kb of data per day. For a duration of 60 days, the Sat phone bill would consequently run at approximately $1,500 using an Iridium; $500 using a Thuraya, but less than $200 with a RBGAN.”
This is not mentioning the time savings of a faster connection and the fact that dropouts, especially with the Iridium are more likely than with the RBGAN. There haven’t been many people using the RBGAN because it’s so new, but dropouts haven’t even been mentioned. In the spring of 2003 the RBGAN was used sucessfully on both sides of Everest.
While the RBGAN has only been around for a year, it’s made a huge impression. In contrast, the alternative is an Inmarsat M4, which has 64 kb/s, but costs over 9000 USD. The RBGAN is only 1560 USD. The only advantage is that the M4 has more global coverage (bigger footprint) than the RGBAN. For Everest this doesn’t matter, however, since they both work.
So, for the lowest budget team, the Thuraya is the way to go. Then get yourself an RGBAN, and if you have the money left over and want to make sure you’re never out of touch, consider the Iridium as the back-up.
Rundown
Here’s a cost rundown. It should be noted that you could purchase two different brands of Thuraya phones, Ascom and Hughes. They are identical, down to the buttons, menus, size, and weight, and they look slightly different on the outside. Other than this they are exactly the same and perform the same.
Be sure to follow the link to the left at HumanEdgeTech.com to check out all the satellite phones in more detail.
Thuraya 220g:
750 USD
0.50 to 1.50 USD per minute call cost
9.6k bp/s
RBGAN 1.5kg:
1560 USD
approx. 12 USD per megabyte transferred
144 kb/s
Iridium 375g:
1420 USD
1.30 to 1.60 USD per minute call cost
2.4 kb/s
Image of BaseCampMD Luanne Freer talking over an Iridium sat phone On Everest BC, courtesy BCMD.com
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