A happy customer…

Posted on 12 January 2012 by

Just received a lovely email from a satisfied customer.  Well done Mark and thank you Brian – we hope you continue to make lots of calls home from your IsatPhone Pro.  You can also find a list of our suggested emergency numbers within our ‘welcome kit’.

“When I saw the article in Australian Geographic Outdoor (Jan/Feb 2012) I knew the IsatPhone Pro was what I had been looking for.  IsatPhone Pro did all that I wanted at minimal weight and by comparison with other offers at an excellent price through TC Communications.

I bought the phone through TC Communications because I was going away, needed it as soon as possible and received an instant response to my enquiry.  When I rang the TC Communications phone number during the Christmas holiday break, surprisingly, I made direct contact with Mark N who arranged for me to meet him at the office early on the first day back at work.  On that day he was ready for me, provided me with practical demonstration and arranged my prepaid account details so that I was on my way within 20 minutes, feeling confident.

The phone is now set up to satisfy my needs.  Migration of contacts was a simple operation but I had to think about the addition of emergency numbers for locations in which I will travel as the phone will not operate using 000/112 type numbers.

The service from TC Communications was great and I believe it will continue, based on my very positive experiences during the purchase phase.

Brian McGrath

 

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PC Pro looks at BGAN optimisation

Posted on 7 December 2011 by

There’s a good article from British IT site PC Pro about BGANs and some of the available optimisation services.

It was quite some achievement to maintain a satellite lock from a moving vehicle, with guns going off all around you and bullets raining down from the sky.

I do hope he finds out about vehicular BGANs soon.

You can read the rest of the article here.

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We’re a BGAN M2M distribution partner

Posted on 6 December 2011 by

At the recent Inmarsat conference in Barcelona, TC was appointed as an Inmarsat direct Distribution Partner for their BGAN machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions.

Inmarsat’s BGAN M2M, due to be released in February 2012, will be used for monitoring fixed assets such as pipelines and oil well heads, or backhauling electricity consumption data within a utility. It uses the satellite operator’s successful BGAN network with specially-made M2M terminals to provide satcom-based network monitoring that’s just like the 3G experience companies are accustomed to.

For more information on the BGAN M2M click here.

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Video from our 20th anniversary party

Posted on 11 October 2011 by

We held the event back in July, but we’ve only just posted the video from our joint 20th anniversary celebration and IsatPhone Pro launch.

Apologies for the mood lighting.

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Son of Sir Edmund Hillary uses IsatPhone Pro on Himalayan charity trek

Posted on 1 October 2011 by

From SatNews Daily:

Peter Hillary was part of a Himalayan expedition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first school to be built by his father. Sir Edmund Hilary, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent of Everest, wanted to help the Himalayan people through education, health and environmental programs. His work is carried on by the Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF).

The satellite phone was supplied by Inmarsat partner TC Communications. The AHF will continue to use IsatPhone Pro during visits to its Himalayan projects, including its programme in the Everest region of Nepal, Tibetan refugee support in India and primary health care workshops in the isolated region of Ladakh in northern India. 

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Segways and MasterChef: TC staff have fun at team building day

Posted on 20 September 2011 by

It’s not always work, work, work around the TC Communications office.

Last month our annual team-building day was held in and around ANZ Stadium in Sydney’s Olympic Park. There was business talk about the year that was and the year ahead, but there were pretty fun bits too.

Check out the videos below of the TC team zipping around on Segways, and competing in our very own MasterChef production. It’s good to know that if the satellite communication industry ever falls through we can have a go at catering (perhaps delivered via Segway).

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New satphone: Iridium Extreme

Posted on 10 September 2011 by

We knew it was coming, and this week it hit: the new handset, the Iridium Extreme.

It’s smaller, more ruggedized, with a body contour and grips. The big new features are location-related: GPS positions, tracking, and SOS alerting. The combination of those physical and functional changes seem very focused on pleasing military customers.

There’s also capability for acting as a WiFi hotspot; I’ve sure everyone will be interested to see how this works in practice.

The hardware prices mean the Extreme will cost at least as much – probably a little bit more -  than a 9555. Given that the Iridium constellation remains the same we’ll find out what the market believes the new features to be worth.

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Saltmotions Joel Coleman interviewed in the Weekend Australian Magazine

Posted on 6 September 2011 by

LITTLE BLACK BOOK
JOEL Coleman travels to remote destinations as an experienced ocean photographer and surf guide. He is an ambassador for TC Communications. More: saltmotion.com; allsatphones.com.

Desperate to get back to: The 600km stretch of coast south of Santiago in southern Chile, which has some of the best waves in the world, including Punta de Lobos, a left-hand point break. The scenery is spectacular and the wildlife amazing.

Favourite surf spot: Although I travel the world, there is no place like home — Queenscliff on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Must visit: The Caroline Islands — a tiny atoll southwest of Hawaii and northeast of PNG — and particularly easternmost Kosrae Island, one of the last untouched gems in the Pacific.

Perfect place for indulgence: Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island, and not just for fine dining and spa treatments. Try walking, swimming, diving and cycling for active ways to work off gourmet meals.

Ultimate eco-adventure: Solwata surf camp in the Solomons sits on stilts on a man-made coral island on Lau Lagoon. The waves are world-class, the scenery even better.

Favourite travel website: Perhaps surprisingly, Facebook. I have been invited into people’s homes, organised lifts for excess baggage and received priceless information on surf breaks.

Best-spent travel dollars: My satellite phone, an IsatPhone Pro, that works anywhere in the world and only costs 75c a minute, which is much cheaper than global roaming.

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The changing face of satellite communications

Posted on 6 September 2011 by

TC Communications’ CEO Todd McDonell interviewed on Sky News about the changing face of satellite communications

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq5kYMZQOms

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We’re finalists in this year’s ARN IT Industry Award

Posted on 1 September 2011 by

TC Communications is pleased to announce that we have been named as a finalist in the Telecommunication category of the ARN IT Industry Awards 2011.

The awards will be announced at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney on the 22nd of September. As 2011 is TC Communications 20th year in business, we consider it a wonderful piece of synergy that the theme for this year’s awards are “Channel Strong for 20 years”, and that the ARN Magazine is also celebrating it’s 20th anniversary.

You can read more about this story by clicking here.

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