Cost Comparison between Iridium Go & Iridium Go Exec

[Gotcha Covered]

G'day has anyone done a cost comparison of the items listed in the title & does anyone have any real experience with both. Star link is too expensive for us & without the coverage for the areas we'll be cruising. Exec states limited internet viewing & faster speed. Internet viewing while on passage could be handy for researching problems but most can probably wait until in cell phone Internet service. Our main use while on passage will be communications, tracking & weather.
We'd be interested to hear your thoughts & see any comparison spread sheets.
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[Pete7]

Given that members are spread across the globe you might add which continent you are predominantly interested in.

Pete

[Gotcha Covered]

We are domiciled in Northern Australia, Queensland & we're planning on cruising the Pacific but with the improving Covid situation we are thinking of opting for the easier down wind passage that Asia would offer. Gotcha Covered

[Benz]

We had an Iridium Go that worked pretty reliably in the arctic last summer. Pretty remote areas, but always a signal. Ice charts had to be reduced in size by a 'stateside helper and then emailed to the iridium, and loading was sometimes slow, but with occasional troubleshooting they always came in.
Weather data was always available as well.
I wasn't paying for it, so I have no idea the cost, but it was convenient to have. I'd hate to go up there without.

[Gotcha Covered]

Thanks for your reply, yeah connection for communication & weather gribs world wide is pretty good with both Iridium Go & the new Exec we here but wondering about the ability to surf the Web all be it at slow speeds (dail up?) & the all important cost considerations.
Thanks
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[SailingHarmonie]

I assume you know the costs.

We have had an IridiumGo unlimited data connection for many years. When we saw the costs of upgrading to the new Exec service, we did not see the value added. I really don’t care if my daily weather update takes 10 minutes to download, or 3.

Only you can know if the occasional webpage view at sea is worth it for you. We have no interest.

[Gotcha Covered]

Many thanks for your reply we maybe of the same mindset set as you but firstly we are looking for a cost comparison. Also info on stopping & starting the one sim card so we retain the same number at all times would be good.
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[wholybee]

"Surfing the Web" is basically not possible with the Go! It is MUCH slower than dialup. Dialup is up to 38.4kbps(in some cases higher), the Go! is only 2.4kbps. There are a few exceptions and it's technically possible with some extra services, but still too slow for me to say it works.

I've not used the Exec yet, but from the specs I expect it to be similar to old dial up. Which would be very painful, but if you needed a page you could surf and browse to it.

[azkenean]

I have been using IridiumGo! for a while and works just fine although bandwidth is quite limited, as previously said. However, they have a plan (around $150/m) which gives you unlimited data and 3 hours of phone calls. I was quite satisfied with this plan during my recent Atlantic crossing. IridiumGo!Exec does not provide such plan. The 40x bandwidth increase will be a temptation to go more on social networks and surf internet, which, IMHO will make you cry when you get the bill. My conclusion is it is not worth it. Starlink RV plan seems to be a good option to consider. I got numerous feedbacks of sailors getting over 200mb download speed in the middle of the ocean.

[geoff326]

I think the elephant in the room in the debate Starlink RV v IridiumGo is that while in some cases it might well work currently in some places in the middle of the ocean there is no claim by the suppliers of Starlink RV that it can be relied upon to work for anywhere offshore except maybe coastal.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by geoff326

I think the elephant in the room in the debate Starlink RV v IridiumGo is that while in some cases it might well work currently in some places in the middle of the ocean there is no claim by the suppliers of Starlink RV that it can be relied upon to work for anywhere offshore except maybe coastal.

When we last looked into it, we discovered the only viable choices for us were either IridumGO OR (Iridiumgo AND Starlink)

Unless you are paying the insane prices for the Maritime service on starlink, service is limited to those areas within the satellite horizon of a ground station--roughly 500 miles. We feel the need weather and simple communication coverage for passages further offshore than that. Starlink can not supply it. We do not feel the need or desire for high speed internet offshore, so we have just dismissed starlink as not suitable for us.

Other people make different choices. We actually enjoy the times we spend at remote anchorages outside of cell tower range. Outside of weather info, we just do not need an internet connection to be happy. IridumGo covers that for us, everywhere we go.