There's been a lot of little modifications to satellite phone airtime in the last few weeks. Although it's normal for satellite airtime prices to fluctuate (and, unfortunately, go up), it does seem like everything is culminating for a December of changes - across many of the carriers.
Here is a recap:
Iridium Prepaid Minutes Due to ExpireDue to a change in Iridium's policy, starting December 17th, 2013 any unused prepaid minutes that you purchased more than three years ago will completely expire from your account. Even if your prepaid account has not yet expired.
From here on out, minutes purchased within the past three years will continue to remain available until the account expires - or 3 years after the date of purchase, whichever comes first.
The thing to keep in mind here is that you cannot roll these old minutes over by buying more airtime with a longer validity period. Once they reach that golden 3 year mark - they're gone.
This is a good excuse to chat up some friends and family on your satellite phone if you have old minutes lying around.
Interested in getting Iridium prepaid satellite airtime minutes? We've got you covered.
Although we don't have all the details yet, we do know that Pilot rates are set to change on December 1st. An initial glance at the changes indicates that lower-usage plans will see a rate increase while the higher-usage plans will likely see their rates go down.
Keep in mind that rates are locked at the price you determine when you sign up for airtime. This means it's still possible to lock in the low (really low!) Pilot rates on a low-end plan - and benefit from the 1000 minute rebate (see below) - to continue to benefit even after December 1st.
Think that an Iridium Pilot might be a good choice for you? We've got a great (free!) whitepaper on Affordable Satellite Broadband for Cruisers with a lot of valuable information on the Iridium Pilot. 
The really fantastic airtime rebate Iridium is offering with all new Iridium OpenPort airtime activations will end December 1st. The rebate goes into effect when you talk for 60 minutes on a crew line using a prepaid GoChat card. Once Iridium logs those 60 minutes, they will issue you 1000 minutes in free prepaid voice cards (a $650 value!)
You can check out the airtime rebate (and a lot of other perks) included in our Iridium Pilot Savings Bundle.
If this isn't a vote of self-confidence, we're not sure what is. Globalstar, notoriously plagued with dropped-call issues throughout their network, had historically provided a tool on their website so that customers could plan their satellite connections based around the potential for dropped calls.
With the launch of their new satellites, however, Globalstar is confident that their network has improved to the point where the CallTimes Tool is no longer required. Hooray!
Feel free to check out more information about Globalstar satellite phones and airtime plans.
Globalstar Double-Time Savings Prolonged (Again!)Due to the popularity of the promotion, Globalstar has extended their Double-Time Savings for new activations bought before December 31st, 2013. This promotion works with most Globalstar plans.
Not sure which Globalstar satellite airtime plan is best for you? Take a look at the full list of Globalstar satellite phone airtime plans.
Satellite airtime is a complicated business. What with billing increments, data speeds, and deciding whether to do prepaid or postpaid, there is a lot to keep track of.
On top of the fact that the plans change, go up, go down, disappear, and generally just don't lend themselves to easy understanding.
Hey! That's what we're here for. Want advice on which satellite airtime will best suit your needs? Feel free to contact us. We'd love to help.
