Franklin LópezJun 18, 2025

Yo, real talk—what the fuck are we gonna do when the internet gets shut off?

We've seen it in #Gaza, in #Iran, and when Elon “I-play-God” Musk blacked out Starlink in Ukraine. Every time shit gets heavy, the state or some oligarch clown just pulls the plug. It ain’t just a glitch—it’s strategic, it’s repression, and it’s a fucking reminder that most of our comms infrastructure is in the hands of fascists, corporations, or both.

I’ve been working with indigenous comrades who rely on #Starlink to stay connected in remote areas. And yeah, it’s wild that you can be deep in the bush and still shitpost from a mountaintop—but that signal still runs through a pipeline owned by a Nazi tech bro.

We need to be talking more about mesh networks, autonomous infrastructure, all that good shit that anarchist tech nerds have been yelling about for years. Decentralized, resilient, community-controlled comms aren’t just cool—they’re necessary for survival.

Let’s keep this convo alive and start building the lifelines before the next blackout. Shit’s coming fast.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/activists-are-designing-mesh-networks-to-deploy-during-civil-unrest/

Activists are Designing Mesh Networks to Deploy During Civil Unrest

The Mycelium Mesh Project is testing DIY networks that can be quickly deployed on trees or lamp posts during a political uprising.

VICE
Show threadAnarchist Radio Relay LeagueJun 18, 2025

@franklinlopez this can be done in many complicated ways that require various amounts of money, research and work.

But just to literally start messing with something, you can use a cheap handheld radio like a Baofeng, and a phone with an app called Rattlegram or AndFLMsg.

Type the message in the app, press the PTT button on the radio, hit "send" in the app. App will play some noise, the mic on the radio will pick it up and transmit it.

Boom. You sent a text msg over radio.

Show threadFranklin LópezJun 18, 2025
@anarchistrrl Holy fuck this is sick! And I have a boefang! I imagine they are not encrypted though?
Show threadanarcatJun 18, 2025
@franklinlopez @anarchistrrl depends on the app. note that the next-gen baofeng is the Quansheng UV-K5 and its firmware is flashable, people have been using it to do (encrypted!) point-to-point text messaging with it https://spectrum.ieee.org/quansheng-uv-k5-hacking
The Most Hackable Handheld Ham Radio Yet

<p>The UV-K5 can be modded at the click of a mouse</p>

IEEE Spectrum
Show threadZimmieJun 18, 2025
@Anarcat @franklinlopez @anarchistrrl Note that encrypted traffic on amateur radio bands is super illegal in many countries (including the Americas, most of Europe, most of Asia, and AU/NZ). Wealthier countries have vans which can very rapidly pinpoint a transmitter.
Show threadanarcat
@bob_zim @anarchistrrl @franklinlopez in disaster scenarios, encryption is overrated and a nuisance. but even saying that, that requirement is loosening up quite a bit recently, and i doubt you'll have a van at your door just for using encryption
Jun 18, 2025 at 7:47pmWeb
Show threadanarcatJun 18, 2025
@franklinlopez @anarchistrrl @bob_zim you'll have vans at your door for many other reasons, mainly because pinpointing a transmitter, yes, is relatively easy (and lora makes that harder)
Show threadZimmieJun 18, 2025
@Anarcat @anarchistrrl @franklinlopez Sure, the FCC-equivalent enforcement arms generally won’t go after somebody only for using encryption, but it’s like having an illegal weapon sitting around at home. They will happily toss on a pile of federal crimes if there’s another reason for them to show up (like if you send messy transmissions at high power, causing interference).