[wsfii-discuss] Wireless Mesh technology - FireChat ignites new way to communicate on phones

[Ramnarayan.K]

 FireChat ignites new way to communicate on phones

http://news.yahoo.com/firechat-ignites-way-communicate-phones-160939070--finance.html

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A new mobile messaging application called FireChat is
empowering nearby smartphone users to stay in touch even when there's no
cellular service or Internet connection.

In just two weeks since its release on the iPhone, FireChat already has
provided a flicker of hope for people pining for more effective, secure and
affordable ways to communicate. That's because the free messaging app
harnesses a technology called wireless mesh networking, which might someday
allow a myriad of devices to connect like links in a chain.

The technique might someday be used to tie together thousands of devices
with built-in radios and make it possible to be online without having to
pay for the access. It could also enable online communications in remote
areas or disaster zones without Wi-Fi or cellular signals. Furthermore, the
conversations in these so-called "off-the-grid" networks can't be easily
hacked into by spies and mischief makers or shut down by governments trying
to stifle free speech.

"We trying to create networks built by the people for the people," said
Micha Benoliel, CEO of Open Garden, maker of the FireChat app.

Open Garden, a San Francisco startup with just 10 employees, is taking
another step toward its ambitious goal with Thursday's release of a
FireChat app for Android phones.

FireChat could be an even hotter commodity on Android given the demographic
differences between that platform's user base and the typical iPhone owner.
The app already has been installed on more than 1 million iOS devices.

Many smartphones running on Google Inc.'s free Android software are cheaper
than Apple Inc.'s iPhone. That has made Android phones the top-selling
mobile devices in less affluent countries, including in regions where
Internet access is inadequate or expensive.

Google is among the big Internet companies intrigued with mesh networking's
potential to bring more of the world online.

Sundar Pichai, Google's executive in charge of Android, has touted mesh
networks as a way to connect wearable computers, such as the company's
Glass eyewear. Mesh networks also could be used to bring a wide variety of
everyday appliances online, helping to build an Internet of things instead
of just websites.

FireChat's reach so far is limited. When connecting off the grid, iPhone
app users have only been able to send text and photos to other FireChat
users within a range of 30 to 100 feet.

Later this year, Open Garden plans to upgrade FireChat's iPhone app so
off-the-grid users will be able to hopscotch through a daisy chain of
devices to extend the reach of a local network. If this works, a FireChat
user sitting in the right-field bleachers of a baseball game would be able
to text with a friend on the other side of the stadium if enough other
iPhone users in the ballpark also are on FireChat.

This extended range will be available immediately on FireChat's Android app
because Open Garden released a mesh networking app for that operating
system nearly two years ago.

FireChat's iPhone app piggybacks on an often overlooked feature called the
Multipeer Connectivity Framework that Apple Inc. included in its latest
mobile operating system, iOS 7, released last September. Apple says more
than 80 percent of people using its mobile devices rely on iOS 7.

For now, Android phones and iPhones with the FireChat app won't be able to
engage in off-the-grid conversation. Open Garden, though, believes it will
eventually be able to make mesh networking work on phones running on
different operating systems.

As the mesh networking software improved, Benoliel realized Open Garden
needed to come up with application to demonstrate what the technology could
do. In that practical sense, FireChat is similar to the word processing and
spreadsheet programs that Microsoft released decades ago to help broaden
the appeal of its Windows operating system for personal computers, said
Christophe Daligault, Open Garden's marketing chief.

FireChat's development was driven by the popularity of other mobile
messaging apps such as Snapchat and WhatsApp that enabled smartphone users
to text and send pictures to their friends and family without having to pay
smartphone carriers.

Like texts and photos sent on Snapchat, nothing transmitted through
FireChat is saved. All content evaporates once the app is closed. FireChat
also allows all its users to remain anonymous, another feature that is
becoming popular on a variety of mobile messaging apps, such as Wickr and
Rumr.

There still aren't enough people using FireChat to ensure users will find
someone nearby to message. To pique people's interest in the app, FireChat
offers an "everyone" option that allows users to enter a digital chat room
with up to 80 other random users located in the same country. This option
requires a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.

Dailigault concedes FireChat's chat room isn't as high-minded as mesh
networking.

"We are finding a lot of people are using it when they are just looking for
something to do for a few minutes," Dailigault said. "Some of the
discussions there are turning out to be more interesting than anything they
can find on Facebook."
Ram
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