Satellite phone for AK trip

[SWFLFFPM]

We will be traveling by RV to AK this summer.

Looking for sat phone ideas just to cover the rural AK highway between northern British Columbia and Alaska. I only need it for this portion coming and going. I only need voice; not text or data. Iridium is the only network covering this area AFAIK.

Things I am considering:
-Renting a sat phone but since I only need it at the beginning and end of the trip it means paying for the whole summer which is a waste or ship in/out at each end of the trip which will be a hassle.

-Buying a used eBay phone and a sim card with minutes.

-I like the Iridium Go but it gets poor reviews for VOIP which is what I need it for.

Ideas?

[Serial Port]

Sadly, at this time your choice of satellite providers is extremely limited. I do hope you have a safe, happy trip. Things may be different in a year or so with the upcoming low-earth orbiting satellite system currently being launched by Space X called Starlink.

After a quick Google search, I found this:

The big three providers of satellite phone service are Iridium, Globalstar, and Inmarsat. Iridium has the highest service prices because they offer the most comprehensive global service, effectively covering the entire planet with a network of 66 low-Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites.Jun 8, 2021

[DRNewcomb]

We will be traveling by RV to AK this summer.

Looking for sat phone ideas just to cover the rural AK highway between northern British Columbia and Alaska. ......

-I like the Iridium Go but it gets poor reviews for VOIP which is what I need it for.

Ideas?

Iridium's data rate is 2400 bps. This is completely inadequate for VoIP.
Globalstar doesn't cover most of Alaska.
In theory, Inmarsat works from 65N to 65S but the satellites are pretty low on the horizon at high latitudes. This means that anything between you and the southern horizon will block the satellite signal.

IMHO ditch the idea of VoIP. Rent a satellite messenger, emergency beacon, like the Garmin inReach. Use your cell phone the rest of the time. Most of the highway has cellular coverage. Consider getting a WeBoost for your car.

[conscript]

this is late, but you can get a motorola 9500 for @$100 on ebay, for service get a prepaid sim on ebay for however number of minutes you thnk you'll need.
be aware of the experation date, some are only good for 21 days (dumb arbitrary number), buying a phone and airtime from a retailer is alot more expensive.
globalstar doesnt offer prepaid anymore; I've used inmarsat (not in alaska) and it worked fine, but up there i'd use iridium.
as for voip over satellite, I wouldn't bother due to latency issues.

[gunterm]

lol $100 where? i just looked and they start at 500 plus

[DRNewcomb]

Make sure it's not a Beta Test 9500. They won't work.