I would recomend a ham set and try and get your ham licence = not for the radio procedures but the free e-mail via the winlink system. It has worldwide coverage and is only restricted in that you must be a ham and not conduct commerce over it. We spent the last year going to russia and back and spent over $1500US on e-mail via mobile and internet cafes in the year - hence the recommendation for the ham licence. It is a much better option - all you need is a ham licence, ssb and modem.