How to communicate when you have no cellular coverage?

[RandolfG]

My name is Randolf. I represent a team of engineers who happen to be outdoor lovers and used to work in Motorola, Honeywell, and the aerospace industry. Dangerous situations we each experienced in the wilderness brought us together, and we came to realize that there is a serious need for better off-grind communication.

Walkie-talkies are what we commonly use when there is no cell coverage. However they have no GPS. In case of an emergency, we cannot find the exact location. Satellite communication, such as DeLorme inReach, seems ideal, except that they are quite expensive, and further charge usage fees. Besides, both options are pretty heavy and bulky that we have to make a painful trade-off between safety and portability.

We feel extremely astonishing that we have to trust our lives to some technologies of half a century ago like walkie-talkie and satellite communication, while nowadays’ technology can do far better.Based on the latest Internet of Things tech, we have invented Sonnet. It combines satellite communication’ functionality with walkies-talkies’ affordability, in addition to being more portable. Without relying on cell towers, Sonnet powers up to 10km communication to:
- send text and voice messages (privately or in a group);
- send image data, and files;
- share, mark and track GPS locations;
- set up your own off-grind communication network;

Sonnet prototype:

When there is no coverage, Sonnet allows us to always communicate with each other no matter how harsh the conditions are. This can literally save our lives in case of an emergency. Multimedia and GPS can also improve our communication accuracy, and take group coordination to the next level.

We will sell Sonnet at $89 per pair. And it is one time purchase for the hardware.

We would be very grateful for any feedback you guys might have!

Thanks for viewing,
Randolf
sonnetlabs.com

 

[dall]

Where can you get these ? And what kind of warranty ? I've looked at the weboost Wilson signal booster and was told they don't work well

 

[Dub11]

Any video of it in use?

 

[RandolfG]

Where can you get these ? And what kind of warranty ? I've looked at the weboost Wilson signal booster and was told they don't work well

Where can you get these ?
- Check the website in the signature. We will launch early next week.
And what kind of warranty ?
- Yes, of course.
I've looked at the weboost Wilson signal booster and was told they don't work well
- Sonnet uses a totally different kind of technology. We created a long-range mesh networking protocol called Prose, which is built on top of chirp spread spectrum.

 

[RandolfG]

Any video of it in use?

Will be available in a few days.

 

[Dub11]

Will be available in a few days.

Nice and the price is really nice too.

 

[dall]

How new is the company?
I live where some places no matter what phone company you don't get signal
Money back guaranteed?
Are you looking for test dummies?

 

[RandolfG]

Nice and the price is really nice too.

Thanks! And actually there will be a early bird discount as well. Just stay tuned. Our official launch date is 27th June.

 

[Dub11]

Alright so this works like a wifi hotspot ? Sorry was trying to find an easy correlation

 

[Dub11]

Thanks! And actually there will be a early bird discount as well. Just stay tuned. Our official launch date is 27th June.

I dropped my email on your site. So does this just boost my current providers signal?

 

[RandolfG]

How new is the company?
I live where some places no matter what phone company you don't get signal
Money back guaranteed?
Are you looking for test dummies?

How new is the company?
- We have been in stealth mode R&D for over a year. I understand the concern over 'company history' but all of our engineers are top STEM university graduates and the CTO(the partner who are in charge of the tech) used to work in senior R&D position in Motorola.
Money back guaranteed?
- Yep, pretty much like this.
Are you looking for test dummies?
- Not at this moment.

 

[RandolfG]

I dropped my email on your site. So does this just boost my current providers signal?

Alright so this works like a wifi hotspot ? Sorry was trying to find an easy correlation
- It uses wi-fi to be connected to your cellphone yes. But the essence of our technology has nothing to do with wfi. It can be categorized into Internet of Things technology.
So does this just boost my current providers signal?
- No. Sonnet works independently, generating and receiving its own signal. It essentially turns your phone into a super advanced walkie-talkie that can much more than a walkie-talkie.

 

[dall]

I'd have to see this work in person before I believe it

 

[RandolfG]

I'd have to see this work in person before I believe it

No problem. I will let you know once the video is out.

 

[dall]

You didn't answer about warranty and the money back guarantee

 

[Dub11]

So guy A has a receiver and guy b has one and the communication is between them only? And at a 10 km range? So if you dial 911 whos answering?

 

[RandolfG]

You didn't answer about warranty and the money back guarantee

Money back guaranteed?
- Yep, pretty much like this. Actually we will have to, as we will launch on kickstarter.com who will impose very strict warranty and money back guarantee policies on us.

 

[RandolfG]

So guy A has a receiver and guy b has one and the communication is between them only? And at a 10 km range? So if you dial 911 whos answering?

Your understanding is correct. People using Sonnet will have their own communication network, while communicating with outside this network, calling 911 for example, will still need to be done via some other means. If A gets in trouble and need help but is out of cellular coverage, he/she can immediately inform B the situation plus his/her GPS coordinates. B will call 911, if B is within the cellular coverage, or/and come to get and help A out.
I apologize if I cause any misunderstanding in my previous posts.

 

[Dub11]

No problems just getting the full jist of it

 

[CR888]

So this is great for a group of people to communicate, but if your in a bad situation where the group had no cell reception would a satellite phone still be the solution to contact rescue service etc?