TIMARU-based ICT specialist Baycity has rounded out its rural portfolio by securing an exclusive distribution agreement for Globalstar’s dual-mode CDMA/satellite phone.
Barry Payne, Baycity managing director, says the phone will be made available to other resellers, though he admits it is a niche market.
“There is a lot of interest in the phone. You don’t have to get too far off the beaten track in New Zealand before you find yourself out of cellular coverage,” he says.
According to Payne, Telecom’s CDMA service covers around 97% of populated areas. Where CDMA is unavailable the handset can be switched to satellite mode.
Payne believes the phones make non-coverage areas safer places and says they are in hot demand from rescue services and the farming sector.
“Because Baycity’s focus is on providing data to rural New Zealand we needed to bridge the last coverage hurdle and have achieved that with Globalstar. With this deal Baycity has almost completed its product set and is the result of a five-year journey.”
Although there is another model of satellite phone available in New Zealand the Globalstar is the first dual-mode device. The phone is also compatible with the remote monitoring service Baycity and Telecom launched in July, which provides farmers with the technology to collect and manage farming data.
Payne says the remote monitoring service is selling extremely well and his company is currently running a demonstration in Australia and looking further afield.
He says exact pricing is still being finalised with Globalstar but expects the phone to retail for around $2,500 with satellite calls costing $1.50 per minute.