Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

There's now a scary, powerful way to send a text if the internet and cell towers go out

theblaze.com · 2h · first reportShare

The internet goes down, the cellphone towers are shot, and you need to get in contact with someone in an emergency. What do you do? 'The network operates independently of the internet.' The answer actually looks somewhat like mid-2000s two-way texting technology, but with a frightening twist. When Paris Hilton, the Backstreet Boys, and Blink 182 were hocking the T-Mobile Sidekick on red carpets, text messaging looked a lot simpler. So simple, in fact, that Americans were impressed by the ability to type messages without having to press the same button over and over to cycle through letters. Now, a simple alternative to reliance on Wi-Fi and cellphone networks is popping up from an unlikely source. Readers have been excited by the low-tech appeal of the Flipper One, an "off-grid radio messenger." In a video posted to X, the Flipper One sends a public message relayed by repeater nodes, the same simple technology that relays radio signals for emergency-service communications, for example.