In areas where your usual phone could not make the cut, one would need to resort to a satellite phone to perform calls and texts in remote areas. What used to be a niche and expensive device in the Philippines is now more accessible, as Smart makes its SmartSat XT Lite satellite phone accessible by making it available at their official Lazada store.

While it is certainly not cheap at Php 38,500 (which includes a prepaid SIM card that’s loaded with $120 worth of calls and texts), satellite phones have the added advantage of being able to do calls and texts in remote areas, making it an ideal communication device for outdoor and maritime activities, along with industrial operations and during emergency situations.

Aside from being able to buy the phone itself, you can also buy just the SIM card for Php 11,700 and 100 and 250 units top-up load for Php 5,200 and Php 13,000 respectively.

“As we all know, communication can mean life and death during emergencies and disasters. We want to make sure our customers can conveniently access our satellite products so that we can help them prepare for unforeseen events,” Smart VP for International Roaming and Consumer Business Alice Ramos said.

While the likes of the Smart SmartSat XT Lite satellite phone remain to be a niche device up to this day, a newly filed EO welcoming satellite broadband services to the Philippines is set to make satellite connectivity mainstream–and could be cheaper in the future.

Through this EO, any registered telco provider can utilize any of the 14 satellites currently covering the country to build and operate broadband services on top of the usual call and text services. Converge did confirm that they are in talks with SpaceX to bring the latter’s Starlink services to the Philippines, and it will be a matter of time before Smart, Globe, and even DITO will consider using satellites to expand its network coverage for internet services.