Communicate Off Grid with a Consumer Meshnet

The latest innovation for communication technology isn’t making your network bigger, it’s making it smaller. Created with backpackers and privacy advocates in mind, goTenna is one of the first meshnet devices available for consumers, allowing people to create a private communication network without a cell tower, WiFi or a satellite dish.

The technology works by pairing your smartphone to a goTenna Mesh device a Bluetooth-LE antenna that can fit inside your pocket. Sold in pairs, a group of these devices can build a completely off-grid mobile network to send messages and GPS coordinates. The network uses a 1W UHF radio transmitter operating on the public spectrum, choosing the strongest frequencies depending on location.

The battery lasts more than 24 hours in standby mode, is weatherproof and weighs just 1.7 ounces. In use, goTenna will have around three miles of range in open terrain and around one mile in the city. The company says its highest range ever recorded is 10 miles, which could extend even further by relaying messages across multiple devices.

Mesh is an update of the original goTenna, meant for two-way use only, currently available at gotenna.com. If you’re interested in purchasing the meshnet device, visit the company’s campaign page on Kickstarter to back the device.