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Inmarsat IsatPhone Plans: Monthly and Prepaid Satellite Airtime
Airtime for the Inmarsat IsatPhone, carried on a small number of large geostationary satellites for a strong, steady signal across most of the inhabited world. Every plan below includes voice minutes; they differ in how you pay and how long the minutes last. Pick the way you pay first, then the size.
Postpaid
Monthly plans
An IsatPhone that stays in service all year and gets used most months.
See 5 plans →No contract
Prepaid voice blocks
A trip, a season, or a backup phone that mostly waits in a bag.
See 6 plans →Postpaid5 plans
Monthly plans
Pay each month for a set number of minutes on a 12-month term. The plan renews every calendar month, and use beyond the allowance is billed at the rate shown on the plan page.
Who it suits: An IsatPhone that stays in service all year and gets used most months.
BillingMonthly, postpaid
Term12 months
IncludesVoice minutes plus texts on IsatPhone handsets
Over the allowancePer-minute and per-message rate on each plan page
20 minutes and texts a month
40 minutes and texts a month
60 minutes and texts a month
120 minutes and texts a month
720 minutes and texts a month
No contract6 plans
Prepaid voice blocks
Buy a fixed block of voice minutes with an expiry date and nothing to cancel afterwards. Validity runs from three months on the smallest block to twelve months on the larger blocks.
Who it suits: A trip, a season, or a backup phone that mostly waits in a bag.
BillingOne payment, up front
Validity3 to 12 months, stated on each plan
RenewalNone; top up with another block
IncludesVoice minutes, worldwide
76 minutes, valid 3 months
192 minutes, valid 6 months
384 minutes, valid 12 months
769 minutes, valid 12 months
1923 minutes, valid 12 months
3846 minutes, valid 12 months
Side by side
Which way to pay
| Monthly | Prepaid | |
|---|---|---|
| You pay | Every month | Once, up front |
| Commitment | 12-month term | None |
| Allowance expires | Resets each month | At the stated validity, 3 to 12 months |
| Run out | Per-minute rate on the plan page | Top up with another block |
| Where it works | Near-global, excluding the polar regions | Near-global, excluding the polar regions |
| Best for | A phone in service all year | Trips, seasons, backup phones |
The network
Why Inmarsat for a phone plan
Inmarsat carries voice and text on a small number of large geostationary satellites, giving a strong, steady signal across most of the inhabited world. IsatPhone handsets built for this network are known for long battery life and clear voice quality once they have a view of the sky.
- Coverage across most of the inhabited world, from a handset with long battery life
- A steady geostationary signal that holds once the antenna has a clear sky view
- A common backup network for organisations that already use a different satellite service
- Voice and text on the same plan, from the same handset
The fine print, plainly
Good to know before you activate
- A one-time activation fee applies to every new line; it is shown on the plan page.
- The minimum term on a monthly plan is 12 months, and ending early carries the fee stated on your order.
- Voice calls are billed in one-minute increments.
- Calls made outside the U.S. are subject to international rates, and incoming calls to the USA-based number are billed as satellite calls.
- Incoming text messages are unlimited.
- Calls to other satellite networks such as Iridium or Thuraya are billed at a higher per-minute rate than calls to landlines and mobiles.
- On cancellation the SIM is deactivated and unused minutes are forfeited.
- Prepaid minutes expire at the end of the stated validity unless a new block is added first.
- Coverage excludes the far polar regions, where the Iridium network is the better fit.
Hardware
Phones these plans activate on
An Inmarsat plan only works on an Inmarsat handset. The IsatPhone 2 is the current phone sold here, and any monthly or prepaid plan on this page goes live on it.
Questions
Inmarsat plan questions, answered
Not covered here? The help centre has dialing guides, activation steps and coverage maps.
Help centrePrepaid if the phone is for a trip or a season; monthly if it stays in service all year. A monthly plan is a 12-month term billed each month, so it only pays off when the minutes get used most months.
Not sure how many minutes you need?
Tell us where the phone is going and for how long, and we will say plainly if a smaller plan does the job.