Any satellite-based accessory available?

On-Star, but if your car is not already equipped, it can be expensive.

I checked out On-Star web site. On-Star seems to use cell-phone towers for communications. So, outside cell-phone range it won't work probably. On the other side, there're satellite phones...it seems, leading provider is Iridium with dozens on satellites covering virtually every spot on the surface of earth. But, phones can cost >$1.5K...you would also need a plan: similar to a cell-phone plan...however, it's possible to rent a phone for a period of time. So, if you were going to raft in some remote area in Alaska, you could rent such phone for a month (for example).

Boris

For Alaska you can get a regional phone for $450 plus $450/year plan

I see.

Thanks, Boris