In reply to Mr. Lee:
Big, I'm a bit behind the times on this now too, but:
- Thuraya still seems to be best for Asia
- the latest Iridiums have had problems. The 2nd-last model seems fine?
- you will only be able to get wx info by text or voice, so the txt will be minimal info
- Karl Gabl in Austria is the guy most people trust, though there are others.
- Bigger xpeds usually have two or more such sources and compare them to decide
- A laptop/netbook etc is going to run up data costs on the phone and add weight, so
- I've found the best solution is to have a friend at home who spends a lot of time online, acquaint them with two or three relevant weather sites and how to read/relate them, and once in-country give them a quick call or txt to check, then call back 30min later for the report. Buy them a bottle of something in gratitude.