What’s Our Plan for COMMUNICATIONS?

Recommendations and expertise welcome (DN 5.X.1)

Not a great picture, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

by Christopher Cook

We are building out plans for our distributed nation: sovereign people in their sovereign spaces, united by shared principles and a desire to be free. A nation within nations, gradually growing in size and independence.

Instead of wallowing in the muck of the old world, we are building a new world. Our own world. That means creating alternative institutions and distinct approaches to our pursuit of freedom and happiness. In some cases, these approaches will be novel and unique; in others, we will reclaim lost knowledge.

Freedom and independence will not come quickly. We will need to be patient and play it smart. We will need to think short-term, long-term, and really long-term.

A nation such as ours will not have any central authority or planned economy. God forbid! But that does not mean that we cannot work together. Swarm intelligence and shared national consciousness will be powerful tools for us.

Let us begin taking our first steps, however tentative, upon this path.

How should a free people handle COMMUNICATIONS?

Just because you are an individual doesn’t mean that you need to be isolated or lonely. We need each other. We need to trade and cooperate. We need to live and love. This means we need to talk.

So let’s swarm this question and start figuring a few things out. Even if it’s just preliminary for now.

How should we divide up this question?

By area of concern? Privacy. Security. What happens if the internet or power goes down? How do we avoid putting all our eggs in one basket?

By scale? What communication methods are best for two people who are in geographic proximity? How about for large numbers spread over vast areas? What about across oceans?

What products or platforms are best within each communication method? Should we use GrapheneOS rather than standard Android or iOS? VPNs? Private email?

Do we want to stay reliant on other people’s platforms or build our own? (Maybe the former at first and the latter down the road?)

The internet is obviously the most convenient for now. Should we build there? Is there a risk of putting all our eggs in that one basket? Should we diversify?

I know that Jim in Alaska has been experimenting with low-tech alternative communications methods. Jim Davidson has expertise in communications security. The Starfire Codes has her ham radio license. Max Borders and Sterlin have written about the high-tech space of decentralized ledgers and blockchains.

I used ChatGPT to crank out a list of communication methods, along with brief assessments of their range, security, and off-grid capabilities. That list is below. (AI gets things wrong and leaves things out, so feel free to check its work.)

Which of these do you use? Which do you like?

If you were coming up with a plan—a range of communication methods to recommend or deploy—what would that look like?

This won’t be our final word on this topic. I want to get some ideas rolling now, to facilitate developing a proper plan later.

This takes us out of the chapter’s narrative flow, but I am not too bothered by that. We’ll insert these discussions here and there, gather good ideas, and then I will use the information we develop to create more formal recommendations.

1. Face-to-Face and Physical Communication

• In-Person Conversation (Range: direct | Security: excellent | Off-Grid: yes)

• Paper Notes / Couriers (Range: unlimited | Security: good if trusted | Off-Grid: yes)

• Visual or Acoustic Signals – flags, lights, horns, bells, etc. (Range: local / line-of-sight | Security: low | Off-Grid: yes)

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2. Short-Range Radios

• FRS (Family Radio Service) (Range: 0.5–2 mi | Security: low / unencrypted | Off-Grid: yes)

• MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) (Range: 1–5 mi | Security: low / unencrypted | Off-Grid: yes)

• CB (Citizens Band) (Range: 1–5 mi handheld / more with vehicle | Security: low | Off-Grid: yes)

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3. Medium-Range and Repeater-Based Radios

• GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) (Range: 1–10+ mi with repeaters | Security: low / unencrypted | Off-Grid: partial — repeaters need power)

• HAM Radio (VHF/UHF) (Range: local to regional | Security: low / open air | Off-Grid: yes)

• LoRa / LoRa Mesh (Range: 1–10 mi | Security: moderate / optional encryption | Off-Grid: yes)

• Meshtastic / goTenna (Range: 2–10 mi | Security: moderate / encrypted | Off-Grid: yes)

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