BACKCOUNTRY
CONNECTION
This New York-based startup
that designs and develops
technologies for off-grid and
decentralized communications
was initially formed in 2013 and
shows no signs of slowing down
By Lisa Kopochinski
The idea for goTenna first struck Daniela Perdomo In
October 2012 after her experience of Hurricane Sandy,
which had torn through the East Coast.
“A huge chunk of towers and power stations in a
10-state area were downed, rendering communication virtually
impossible when millions of people needed it most,” said
Perdomo, CEO and co-founder of goTenna, a Brooklyn, New
York-based startup that designs and develops technologies
for off-grid and decentralized communications.
goTenna devices pair with smartphones and – through
intelligent mobile ad hoc networking protocols – enable users
to send texts and share locations on a peer-to-peer basis,
foregoing the need for centralized communications infrastructure
of any kind.
“I remember thinking that our smartphones are amazing,
we always have them with us and they can do so many things.
But without a signal, they’re just really expensive calculators.
What if we turned phones into mobile infrastructure and unlocked
the ability to create peer-to-peer connectivity regardless
of centralized connectivity?”
Hence, Perdomo and her brother, Jorge, immediately set to
work on a prototype. By early 2013 they had a clunky – but
functional – device that paired with a smartphone and using
long-range radio-waves could transceive messages and locations
without a cell, wi-fi or even satellites.
That first consumer product, goTenna, was fully commercialized
by 2015. In 2017, the company shipped its
second-generation device, goTenna Mesh, which added on
mesh networking capability and powers the world’s only
consumer-ready, long-range, mobile mesh network.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
goTenna Mesh comes in
different colors with an
impressive point-to-point
range – typically up to
a half-mile in congested
areas and approximately
four miles of open terrain
– make it a great choice
for those who enjoy
snowmobiling or skiing in
more remote areas
Unique technology
goTenna is unique in that it is the first and only company
to bring the capability to form off-grid parallel communications
networks to the consumer market. Perdomo says
goTenna Mesh’s connectivity doesn’t rely on phone network
coverage, wi-fi or even satellites. It works on an entirely
peer-to-peer basis.
“goTenna Mesh pairs to iOS or Android smartphones via
Bluetooth to then generate an independent, long-range radio
network over long-range UHF frequencies with other Mesh
devices, and allows users to send text messages and share
GPS locations up to several miles apart,” she said.
“It offers a safe and secure way to communicate with other
mesh users without the need for a typical mobile network infrastructure
and has proven critical in crowded events and
emergency response throughout the world.”
RCAUCINO/123RF
snowopsmag.com | SnowOps 11
/snowopsmag.com
