[SatNews] When embarking on a new mountain expedition, professional mountaineer Arnold Coster ensures that he has his gear in order.

Coster has deployed the Thuraya XT satellite handheld for his last six 8,000 meter mountaineering adventures. His latest mountain challenge has been a trek up Everest where he has relied heavily on the data services of Thuraya XT, which provides the fastest data service in the satellite handheld market. The handheld supports packet data services (GmPRS) with speeds up to 60 kbps, which is currently the fastest data service on any satellite phone. Through the GmPRS data connection, he can also easily send and receive emails, thus keeping up with daily business and social communications. Despite the challenging environment that Mr. Coster endures, he stated, “Thuraya satellites are stationed about 35000 kilometers above the Earth, which is helpful and important for reliable communication while climbing high mountainous areas. Even if I encounter high mountain peaks, I do not have problems accessing the signal with Thuraya XT. I use a small notebook that I connect with the Thuraya XT phone and no matter how high the mountain, this set up works easily, quickly and reliably.”

The Thuraya XT handheld has been provided to Mr. Coster by Xtralink, one of Thuraya’s Service Partners. Thuraya XT is the only satellite handheld to be IP54/IK03 certified making it splash water, dust and shock proof. It has unique walk and talk capabilities and is the only satellite handheld to provide GPS waypoint navigation.