Watch this space

Cyclone Gabrielle exposed telco vulnerabilities but now a satellite-to-mobile service is on the horizon.

- Peter Griffin

A round 15 years ago, I was handed a satellite phone and told I could call anyone, anywhere in the world.

I was standing on an isolated farm in North Auckland with an executive from the satellite company Inmarsat. The chunky phone in my hand had a thick, cigar-shaped antenna connected to it. I ended up calling my mother, who was at home just 50km away.

At the time, making a phone call via satellite cost $15 a minute, so I cut the call short. Sat phones have long been the device of choice for those who spend their time well beyond the reach of mobile networks - oil-rig workers, deep-sea sailors, search-andrescue specialists.

But early this month, two of our mobile network providers, One (formerly Vodafone) and 2degrees, said they would start trialling two-way, satellite-to-mobile phone services. It means that from late next year, you might be able to send a text message or make a phone call from literally anywhere in New Zealand, including our vast ocean territory, using the plain old smartphone you already own.