What are Satellite Phones and what is it about them?

Satellite phones or Sat phones are a type of mobile phone that connects using satellites that orbit around the earth rather than terrestrial cell towers. Depending on the type of phone, it’s range may span across a particular region or the entire surface of the earth.The mobile equipment or the terminal comes in different sizes, depending on the range and reception area required. Early sat phones were the size of mobile phones of the 90’s. They usually had an attached large retractable antenna. Today’s sat phones have shrunk to the size of latest smart phones. Some prototypes even look and feel like modern day mobile phones. Sat phones are especially popular on ships and during expeditions to far off remote places where signals from terrestrial cell sites don’t reach.Aboard ships, a fixed, large andrugged, rack mounted electronic circuit is mounted along with a steerable microwave antenna thatis usually placed on the mount of the ship. This antenna automaticatracks the overhead satellites.On the down side, satellite phones are known to have very poor reception indoors, unless you place the antenna near a window. To combat this problem, it is possible to install an external antenna on the roof of a building or vehicle.

Courtesy: Chip