Kuma Academy: “When the Internet Goes Down, No One Has a Backup Plan”
“It is precisely because the internet is so convenient that when it goes down, no one has a backup plan.”
This observation arose from Sean Ching’s survey and review of Taiwan’s communications infrastructure. Thanks to the efforts of people working in the relevant organizations, Taiwan’s telecommunications networks have not experienced a large-scale outage lasting more than half a day in recent years. If an outage occurs in a major city, it can generally be resolved within 24 hours. Yet this very convenience leads us to take the internet and electricity for granted, like air—so people panic intensely when the internet goes down. For this reason, civil society has begun researching and discussing Meshtastic as another communications backup.
How Far Do Communications Actually Need to Reach?
Most people commute for 30 to 60 minutes each day, equivalent to a typical range of approximately 10 to 30 kilometers. In other words, when a disaster occurs and communications are interrupted during the gap before repairs are completed, people do not need long-distance communications between Taipei and Kaohsiung. They want to know whether family and friends are safe in a short-term, localized emergency—and that is precisely the setting in which Mesh performs best. In theory, point-to-point communications can reach 3 to 5 kilometers even in a concrete urban jungle full of interference. With relay capabilities, Mesh can easily cover an ordinary commuting range; in open terrain, the distance can increase dramatically to 30 kilometers.
Experience from Taiwan’s Community
Taiwan’s largest Mesh Facebook group, “Meshtastic Taiwan Community (Taiwan Mesh Network),” includes many experienced members who can help answer all kinds of questions encountered while operating Mesh. More importantly, Taiwan’s community created the “MESHTW” channel so enthusiasts could contact one another and run tests. A stable communications network has now formed across northern Taiwan. Sean also reminded members of small teams to test their equipment periodically and establish trusted communications networks and rules of use within trusted circles.
The Latest Application: “Meshbridge Message Board”
Using Mesh still requires every user to have a hardware device and a mobile app—but could “a group own just one device, yet share its network and use it to communicate with the outside world”? Motivated by this possibility, Sean and fellow enthusiasts combined Mesh with a Raspberry Pi to complete the Wi-Fi-enabled Meshbridge project. Even users without Mesh hardware can connect directly to the Mesh communications network using their phone’s Wi-Fi, then open a Chrome page to chat and leave messages. By greatly lowering the technical and financial barriers to promoting Mesh communications backups in residential buildings, this is an exciting Mesh development project.
(This article was compiled and written by Kuma Academy.)