Predictwind and Iridium offer Sat Phone comms at Mobile Phone pricing

by Sail-World on 24 Sep 2014 Iridium have recently released the Iridium GO!, their latest product in the satellite communication market.

It’s portable, battery powered, and creates a WiFi hotspot. PredictWind have partnered with Iridium to put together a package catering specifically to the marine market.

Iridium’s CEO Matthew Desch expressed how their partners were referring to it as a 'game changer' for satellite communications. Being able to use existing smartphones, tablets or computers saves users time and money compared with old dedicated satellite phones.

Jon Bilger, the director of PredictWind and past Volvo Ocean Race weather advisor, agrees saying, 'The Iridium GO! Marine Package is the very best satellite technology at the US$1,000 price point. Combined with our new offshore GRIB software, it makes reliable communication and receiving accurate weather data offshore more affordable than ever.'

With one month contracts, the competitively priced plans for the GO! are an unbeatable drawcard. The ‘Unlimited’ plan for the GO! at $125 per month, boasts unlimited data minutes and SMS messaging. Unlimited data is virtually unheard of when it comes to satellite communication. The pricing of the satellite communications package and plan is very comparable with similar products in the regular, very competitive, mobile phone market.

Some other features of the unit include:

- Connection of up to five devices at once
- Operate with power cable or on internal battery
- SOS emergency contact without any device connected
- Tested to military grade ruggedness and water ingress protection
- Integration with the PredictWind Offshore Package
- GPS tracking (via SMS)

See PredictWind's Iridium GO Marine Package page for a complete evaluation of the satellite unit, the different plans available, and a 22% discount.