If those hikers on Mount Hood had a satellite phone they would have been found. If you go deep sea fishing you don't have to go very far off shore to lose cell service. The phones I have seen are not much bigger than the cell phones of a few years ago.
I am thinking about renting one just to check it out. They can be used as a modem on a laptop; something I have yet to be able to do with a TracFone.
