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Chris Trottier

4 days ago • •

Chris Trottier
4 days ago • •

So how do people communicate without mobile Internet?

I personally just use a two-way radio because it just means purchasing the hardware. No need for a subscription. It’s just push to talk.

This is great if you spend most of your time in the city and you’re never beyond a a few kilometres away from whoever you’re communicating with.

But if you are by yourself, and hundreds of miles away from civilization, then you’re more likely to use something like this.

The Gamin GPSMAP H1i Plus has text messaging and voice memos. It also has a camera and GPS navigation. All available via satellite. But, of course, this requires a subscription.
RE: atomicpoet.org/objects/c400b00…

A black Garmin handheld GPS and satellite communicator with a red antenna on top, shown against a plain light background. Its color screen displays a messaging interface with a photo thumbnail, a text saying “Check out our view!”, and an orange voice message bubble, while physical navigation and function buttons fill the lower half of the device.

This entry was edited (4 days ago)

Chris Trottier

4 days ago • •

Chris Trottier
4 days ago • •

Here is a mobile data map of Canada.

The dark-shaded areas show where 5G networks are in operation, and the light-shaded areas show where there are 4G networks currently in operation.

Most of the country does not have mobile access at all. And that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future either.
RE: atomicpoet.org/objects/54c49d6…

A map of Canada overlaid with dense clusters of colored lines and points, likely representing transportation or movement patterns. The heaviest concentrations appear in southern Ontario and Quebec, especially around the Great Lakes and the Montreal-Toronto corridor, with additional dense networks in the Prairie provinces and Atlantic Canada. Northern Canada is mostly sparse, with only a few scattered routes.

Chris Trottier

in reply to Chris Trottier

Attila Kinali

in reply to Chris Trottier • 4 days ago • •

Still better coverage than in Germany

#neuland

in reply to Attila Kinali

Chris Trottier

in reply to Attila Kinali • 4 days ago • •

@attilakinali A European just told me that everyone in Europe constantly has Internet coverage, and they’re rarely in any deadzones.

@Attila Kinali

Chris Trottier

4 days ago • •

Chris Trottier
4 days ago • •

A European asked me how often I don’t have mobile data.

Being from Canada, quite often.

Most of the country does not have Internet, never mind phone coverage.

To give perspective on why this is the case consider that Canada has more land mass than the entirety of Europe, yet only 41 million people live here. And those 41 million people are mostly clustered in a few population areas, mostly in Southern Ontario and Quebec.

I, however, am from Vancouver, British Columbia. Which means that I have to deal with mountains. The moment I leave the city—which is often—my smartphone has no Internet. Often, I can’t even make calls.

How does my family communicate when there’s no phone coverage? Through two-way radios. Which are actually quite affordable.

in reply to Chris Trottier

Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE

in reply to Chris Trottier • 4 days ago • •

We did borrow one of those emergency satellite communication widgets last time we went walking in BC mountains.

in reply to Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE

Chris Trottier

in reply to Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE • 4 days ago • •

@TimWardCam Yeah, there’s a lot of options. And thankfully, many of them are affordable.

@Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE

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