When goTenna put out their Mesh device[1] earlier this year, I thought the off-grid communication gadgets would be great for an emergency kit or back country hike. But it turns out that both I and goTenna[2] underestimated the demand for a resilient, user-powered mesh network: thousands of dedicated nodes now populate cities across the country, and volunteers are using them to get Puerto Rico back online after a devastating hurricane season.
The Mesh works a lot like the original goTenna, which pairs to your phone using Bluetooth, then uses walkie talkie radio frequencies to send text communications (no cell network necessary) to another device paired to someone else’s phone — perhaps a mile or two away.
What the Mesh added was the ability to relay those messages: a chain or group of the devices will hear the message (it’s encrypted, of course) and pass it on until it reaches its destination. You can even set your Mesh up as a stationary relay, which in concert with other devices might let entire neighborhoods or even cities communicate even in case of a power or telecommunications outage.
I’ve always found mesh networks compelling, but I just sort of assumed they would emerge out of the proliferation of wireless devices we already have: phones, routers, laptops. But so far no one has been about to unify the clans and produce some kind of universal relay protocol. The goTenna Mesh, of course, is built for it out of the box. (I have a couple units they sent me to review, but have only had the chance to text the most basic features.)
When I talked to Daniela Perdomo, founder and CEO of goTenna, around the time of the Mesh launch, a handful...