Where can I purchase a Satellite phone for my son who is going to Afghanistan?

Globalstar and Iridium are the two major ones, with Iridium being more expensive last I looked (but you’ll want to check it out). Both have global coverage. Thuraya is also a reliable SatPhone company with coverage in Europe, Asia, and Africa, but the phones won’t work in America. It may be cheaper, I don’t know.

I’m most familiar with Iridium, and it’s the best-known company, but as I say, also the most expensive.

You should be aware that SatPhone calls can be crushingly expensive, as much as $2 a minute from the phone to a landline and many times that from a landline or cellphone to the satellite phone itself. Calling satellite-phone to satellite-phone can cost as much as $15 a minute if they’re on different networks, so if your son and daughter-in-law know other people with these phones, it may be worth it to buy whatever those others have just to keep them on-network to avoid those killer fees. I mean, a 10-minute phone call at that rate costs $150.

It’s not a bad thing to have, though, and I’ve found that these phones work very well. Just don’t think you’ll be using it for long calls from the home to the SatPhone, and read your terms carefully depending on your needs.

Good luck! And good luck to your children, too.