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Call costs are around $1.50/min flat rate to any landline, and around $1/min to another Iridium phone.
A summary of the main airtime plans is as follows:
| | Post-paid | Pre-Paid 75 mins | Pre-Paid 500 mins | ExpressMail 500* | Pre-Paid 3000 |
|---|
| Upfront Cost ($USD) | 0 | $151.50 | $822 | $775 | $2,995 ($0.99/min!!) |
| Monthly Cost ($USD) | $37* | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Included Minutes | 0 | 75 | 500 | 500 | 3000 |
| Included Mins Expiry | n/a | 1 month | 12 months | 12 months | 24 months |
* ($32/month if paid 12 months in advance)
*ExpressMail 500 is our discounted airtime package for users also taking out a subscription to our Email Compression service
- Included minutes/expiry can be increased:
- 50 mins extra - $75
- 1 month extra expiry - $39
Note that all topups run concurrently, so you can build your own airtime plan from these basic components. For example if you purchase 2x ExpressMail 500 topups PLUS an extra 12 months of expiry, then you would end up with 1,000 minutes which could be used over the next 3 years (for example)
To find out which deal is best for you simply estimate how many minutes airtime you are likely to use and figure out the total cost. However, the breakeven point is around 200-250 minutes / year, so use the following as a rough guide:
| Usage | Suggestion |
|---|
| Emergency only | Monthly Post-paid |
| Normal email usage, some phone calls | ExpressMail 500 Pre-Paid |
| Heavy use, 1.5 hours+ per month for the next 24+ months | Pre-Paid 3000 |
Pre-Pay Notes
- The Iridium pre-pay system requires you to purchase airtime minutes and line rental as separate components
- The telephone number for pre-pay SIM cards is only allocated when the SIM is activated (and airtime added to it)
- If the airtime runs out then you will no longer be able to make chargeable calls (eg you can still make free calls to check your balance or call customer services and request a topup
- If the line rental runs out then all remaining minutes will be lost immediately (ie please ensure that you purchase additional line rental before any remaining minutes expire if you wish to keep them). However, there is no obligation to purchase any line rental, ie if you no longer wish to use the card then just leave it and you will not be billed anything further
- Once the line rental has run out you will no longer be able to make any calls using that SIM card. ie the card is deactivated from the Iridium network.
- Once a SIM is deactivated then the telephone number is reserved on the Iridium network for 6 months. During that period the SIM can have additional airtime added to it (ie it will start working again). However, after 6 months it is permanently deactivated and removed from the Iridium network and the tel number reallocated
Apply for a Pre-Paid account
We operate a very flexible scheme for pre-pay airtime. Please complete and return the attached airtime forms and in return we will send out a prepaid Iridium SIM. Note that we will NOT normally charge you at that point for airtime. The idea is to get the paperwork sorted in advance - then you simply phone/fax/email your order to us at the point you need the airtime activating.
We find this flexible scheme to be very helpful in avoiding customers trying to buy airtime at the last minute when it can be very hard to get SIM cards sent out to them in the time needed. With this method you can have the SIM card early and then you have the option to activate whenever it's needed (and customers often find themselves outside of cell phone range sooner than they expect and hence having the Iridium ready to go means that it's very easy to switch over if required)
Please simply complete and return the attached airtime forms to obtain an Iridium pre-paid SIM (and please also drop us a courtesy email at the same time)
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