Inmarsat prices going up soon

[Katiusha]

Just a heads up that one sat comm store mentioned that Inmarsat prices will be going up (triple?) in May 2012 or so. Looked into it some more and here's what Panbo says:

Unfortunately I must also report that I've just seen a leaked email strongly suggesting that Inmarsat is going to significantly raise its rates in the months ahead.
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But if I understand the email correctly that minimum $55 plan listed below may more than triple in May, and it will have nothing to do with Intellian. In fact, it looks like almost all Inmarsat rates, including Sat C and Mini-M, will go up to some degree regardless of the distribution partner or service provider involved. I'll certainly be interested in the reaction when and if these leaked rate changes materialize, and I'm quite willing to report on Inmarsat's side of the story -- could the failing LightSquared deal have something to do with this? -- but it surely looks like the company doesn't feel much obligation to the boaters who purchased expensive yacht-size FB hardware once able to get online most anywhere at reasonable costs if carefully used.

Full article is here: http://www.panbo.com/archives/2012/03/gmns_wxa-102_satellite_router_but_inmarsat_rate_increases_t oo.html

The suggestion floating around is, if you're in the market for a broadband sat comm, to get KVH Mini-VSat for most areas and supplement with Iridium OpenPort for those areas not covered by Mini-VSat. The total price for both units is about an FB250 and the plan prices are much lower. To get a relly deluxe setup, you could also add on a KVH CommBox that would choose the most cost-effective provider itself.