Satellite phones, sat phones, satellite systems

I recently came across the website of SatPhone.com, an online super store, while researching the topic of handheld satellite phones and commercial internet satellite systems for my next article. They have an extensive range of products from handheld, fixed, aeronautical, maritime and even Scada use types. One that caught my eye was the RST973 In-vehicle kit, which provides full hands free operation for the Beam Remote Satellite Terminal RST100, Remote Satellite Modem RST200 and the RST610 Voice Data module. In case you didn't know, satellite phones (also known as sat phones) are used around the world by those on expeditions in the high seas, north/south poles, and by those who live in mountainous or dense forest regions. That essentially covers just about anyone who is in a remote place where connectivity to cellular networks is not available. When one turns on a satellite phone, the signal goes up to any number of satellites in a compatible constellation where it is then registered with the constellation. With satellite phones, there is no concept of cells or cell towers (as is the case with cellular phones). The most popular hand held satellite telephones use Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites, while others use geosynchronous orbiting satellites. A wide variety of Sat Phone satellite providers are available, such as Iridium, inmarsat, SPOT, Globalstar, Orbcomm, and Vsat. Seeing all these benefits, I would like to get one for myself for the times I hit the hiking trail!