Thuraya Network Closure

Friday the 10th of May 2024, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

We refer you to our notice on Wednesday the 8th of May 2024 regarding the sustained failure of the Thuraya satellite network that prevents Pivotel from providing services in Australia, and in turn means your Thuraya phone or data terminal is unable to be used in Australia. We have suspended your service and temporarily migrated it to a $0 service plan so your Pivotel Mobile number(s) can be reserved at no cost to you.

In our notice we advised you that we are preparing a selection of special offers for you to move to another Pivotel satellite phone service. We’re now pleased to be able to confirm the offers available to you.

Our offer for you to move to the Inmarsat Satellite Phone Service

The Inmarsat satellite phone service uses a fleet of geostationary satellites. Service in Australia is provided from a Geostationary satellite at 143.5 degrees east, northeast of Australia. Inmarsat also operates a compatible satellite at 83.8 degrees east, northwest of Australia.

When you return your working Thuraya phone, you can buy an Inmarsat IsatPhone 2 that operates on the Inmarsat satellite network for just $1,099.00. That’s a $500.00 saving on the usual price of $1,599.00.

We will also offer you a special rate on your Inmarsat service plan for 12 months from when you activate your service transfer. You’ll pay just $30 per month for the first 12 months – after that your service will move to our standard Isat 43 plan – that’s a saving of $156.00 over 12 months.

If you bought your Thuraya phone from Pivotel or a Pivotel Dealer in the 3 years prior to the failure (on or after 16/04/2021), and you return it in working order with Proof of Purchase, you will be eligible for a further discount on your Inmarsat IsatPhone 2 depending on the age of your Thuraya handset.

Please see the further discounts available below:

To be eligible for this offer you must return your Thuraya phone in working order and connect on the Isat Special Plan for a Minimum 12 Month Term. To qualify for the additional discount for a phone less than 3 years old you will need to provide proof of purchase from Pivotel or a Pivotel Dealer.

Our offer for you to move to the Iridium Satellite Phone Service

The Iridium Satellite Phone Service uses a fleet of 66 satellites that operate in a polar Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for maximum resilience.

When you return your working Thuraya phone, you can buy an Iridium 9555 that operates on the Iridium satellite network for just $1,299.00. That’s a $800.00 saving on the usual price of $2,099.00.

You also have the option to choose the Iridium GO! for just $1,249.00. That’s a $450.00 saving on the usual price of $1,699.00.

We will also offer you a special rate on your Iridium service for 12 months from when you activate your service transfer. You’ll pay just $40 per month for the first 12 months – after that your service will move to our standard Pivot 65 plan – that’s a saving of $300.00 over 12 months.

If you bought your Thuraya phone from Pivotel or a Pivotel Dealer in the 3 years prior to the failure (on or after 16/04/2021), and you return it in working order with Proof of Purchase, you will be eligible for a further discount on your Iridium handset depending on the age of your Thuraya handset.

Please see the further discounts available below:

To be eligible for this offer you must return your Thuraya phone in working order and connect on the Iridium Special Plan for a Minimum 12 Month Term. To qualify for additional discount for a phone less than 3 years old you will need to provide proof of purchase from Pivotel or a Pivotel Dealer.

Hardware Refunds

If you choose not to take up one of the special offers, and you purchased your handset from Pivotel or a Pivotel Dealer in the two years prior to the failure, you can apply for a full or partial refund as follows:

Service Refund

If you have a credit balance in your account, and you choose not to take up an alternative service from Pivotel, we will arrange a refund for you. If you pay by direct debit, we will process the refund to the Credit Card or Bank Account you use for Direct Debit. If we are unable to process a refund this way, we will contact you and advise you of the steps to follow to set up your bank account or credit card details.

If you are eligible, you will receive your refund, or we will contact you about your refund within 60 days or sooner. You don’t have to do anything now.

What happens next?

While we have been working on these special offers, we have also been busy implementing the systems needed to enable you to apply to transfer your Pivotel Thuraya service and number to a replacement service on another satellite network.

We expect the online systems to be in place to enable you to apply for your replacement service no later than the close of business next Wednesday the 15th of May 2024.

For you to take up your offer in the online application portal you will need the login credentials for your Pivotel Account. While you wait for the offers and access to the online application portal, we recommend you check your login access.

1. Click here to go to Pivotel Selfcare and enter your Account Number and password to check you can login.
2. Your Account Number is at the top of this email, and can also be found on your Pivotel monthly invoice.
3. If you don’t know your password, or you forgot your password, click the Forgot Password link, enter your Account Number, and click continue. You will be sent a link by email to set a new password.

This is a major unplanned event and is impacting on call answering times in the Pivotel Customer Care team.

We will keep the Pivotel Thuraya FAQ page up to date and request you check that page for current information

Wednesday the 8th of May 2024, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

We refer you to our communication on Thursday the 2nd of May 2024 regarding the sustained failure of the Thuraya satellite network that prevents Pivotel from providing services in Australia, and in turn, means your Thuraya phone or data terminal is unable to be used in Australia. We have suspended your service and temporarily switched it to a $0 service plan so your Pivotel mobile number(s) can be reserved at no cost to you.

In our last communication, we advised you that we would be preparing a selection of special offers for you to move to another Pivotel satellite phone service. We’ve been working hard with our internal teams and vendors to ensure we can provide the best possible options for you to move to another satellite service with minimal impact on you.

We expect to notify you of the special offers that are available to you no later than the close of business this Friday the 10th of May 2024. You will then have all the information you need to decide which offer suits you best.

We will have offers for you to switch your service and number to a Pivotel Inmarsat service with an Inmarsat IsatPhone 2, or to a Pivotel Iridium service with an Iridium 9555 satellite phone or Iridium GO!

While we have been working on these special offers, we have also been busy implementing the systems needed to enable you to apply to transfer your Pivotel Thuraya service and number to a replacement service on another satellite network.

We expect the online systems to be in place to enable you to apply for your replacement service no later than the close of business next Wednesday the 15th of May 2024.

For you to take up your offer in the online application portal you will need the login credentials for your Pivotel Account. While you wait for the offers and access to the online application portal, we recommend you check your login access.

- Click here to go to Pivotel Selfcare and enter your account number and password to check you can login.
- Your Account Number is on your Pivotel monthly invoice.
- If you don’t know your password, or you forgot your password, click the Forgot Password link, enter your Account number, and click continue. You will be sent a link by email to set a new password.

If you choose not to take up one of the special offers, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund depending on the age and working condition of your Thuraya handset. We will share the refund conditions and steps required at the same time as we share the special offers.

If you have a credit balance in your account, and you choose not to take up an alternative service from Pivotel, we will arrange a refund for you. If you pay by direct debit, we will process the refund to the Credit Card or Bank Account you use for Direct Debit. If we are unable to process a refund this way, we will contact you and advise you of the steps to follow to set up your bank account or credit card details.

If you are eligible, you will receive your refund, or we will contact you about your refund within 60 days, if not sooner.

Thursday the 2nd of May 2024, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Thuraya has advised Pivotel that the Thuraya 3 (T3) satellite has suffered a sustained Force Majeure event that has caused an ongoing outage of both voice and packet data services which prevents Pivotel from providing services in Australia for the foreseeable future.

Thuraya has subsequently terminated the Service Provider Agreement with Pivotel, with immediate effect, applying the Force Majeure provisions of that Agreement.

As a result of the sustained Force Majeure event, and the Termination of the Service Provider Agreement, Pivotel is unable to continue to supply Thuraya services.

All active Pivotel Thuraya services have been suspended and temporarily migrated to a $0 package prior to being deactivated at a future time. For billing purposes, the suspensions and migrations will be backdated to 15th April 2024, the day before the outage commenced. Your next bill will show a credit for any fees that were charged in advance for access to the service after April 15th.

We are very disappointed by this situation, and we understand that you will be too. We know that our customers rely on Pivotel’s satellite phone and data services for critical communications. While the cause of the satellite failure is completely outside of Pivotel’s control, and the termination of the Thuraya Service Provider Agreement is unavoidable, we are working hard to put together a selection of special offers to enable our Thuraya users to move to another satellite phone network and we will email you with the special offers available to you in the coming days.

If you had an active Thuraya service, we will reserve the mobile number(s) associated with your Thuraya service(s) for up to 6 months, unless the service is disconnected earlier, so you will be able to move to another Pivotel satellite phone, and another satellite service, and use the same mobile number(s) that you used previously. You will also be able to call into the voicemail platform to access any voicemail messages that may be left for you.

Under the offers, customers who purchased a Thuraya terminal that was imported and distributed by Pivotel may qualify for a full or partial refund, or a credit against a new handset, depending on the age of the terminal. Proof of Purchase will be required.

Many customers may have purchased a terminal from a supplier that did not acquire the terminal from Pivotel. Upon receiving the details of the Pivotel offers we recommend you make contact with your supplier to determine if you may be eligible for a Pivotel refund or credit.

This is a major unplanned event and is likely to impact on call answering times in the Pivotel Customer Care team. We will keep the Pivotel Thuraya FAQ page up to date and we request you check that page for current information.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this challenging situation. We do value your business and our efforts to secure options for you to quickly migrate to an alternative satellite service is our highest priority.

Please refer to the online Pivotel Thuraya Network Closure FAQ page for further information.