By supporting networking.
As I understand “walkie talkie” radios, the spectrum they use (GMRS/FRS/CB/MURS, etc) isn’t permitted to transmit data in a way that’s useful for proper data networking (there’s some allowance for data but not really anything like what lost people think of as networking, and encryption is right out of the question).
helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 days ago
It is text-based only. And since it’s such a small amount of data, it can be transmitted a much longer distance.
There’s also the Mesh part where if two nodes (radios) are too far apart, and another node is in between, it can act as an intermediary/relay to increase distance. You can use ~4 nodes (3 hops) in this way.
Communications are also encrypted.
xnx@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
Is 4 nodes the maximum able to connect?
helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 days ago
Not sure what you mean by “connect”. You can connect hundreds of them in a mesh network (although the network will eventually become saturated if you don’t adjust), but message delivery is typically electronically limited to 3 “hops” for any particular message.
TheRealCharlesEames@lemm.ee 3 days ago
Oh this is making some sense to me now. Will this replace or augment iMessage one day?
helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 days ago
Hehe no. It is text/emoji only. Best used in places where cell networks don’t exist, go down, or become saturated, or some combination.
TheRealCharlesEames@lemm.ee 3 days ago
Oh. Not even 20 years in the future? Never would have expected the fediverse or iPhones that can talk to satellites.