this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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True, though the benefit of these and other kinds of community-run decentralized networks is that it becomes harder to disrupt those networks. It's not impossible, but they're often built around an idea of, "But what if this node goes down?" so they have ways to address those issues or make it so that it's easy to deploy new nodes.
Still, if things are to the point that the government is cracking down on hobbyist radios, you've probably got lots to consider regarding the best ways to communicate with other dissidents and activists.
It seems to me that a mesh network would only be useful if the internet went down and it was an accident. The one successful use case I've heard was during a natural disaster. If the internet is shut down intentionally, such as the case of the Iran protests, having a communication beacon sounds like a really bad idea...
Dangerous? Probably.
Bad? I mean, at some point, it becomes a risk assessment. Organizing at the risk of physical discovery might still be worth it, depending on your goals and what you're willing to sacrifice. The benefit of these networks is that you don't need tons of funds or construction ability to set them up. Whether you are an activist, a hobbyist, or a political dissident, you don't need a government or business to do it for you.
It's not really my place to determine what someone's best strategy is, as strategic factors are likely always changing.
I'm no expert either. But I did download an app on my phone called Tesla Radar, and if you use it, you will discover the unique Bluetooth IDs of any Tesla car that drives past your phone while it's passively scanning. I'm not smart enough with LoRa radios to know or understand if are similar issues with those...
There is always the option for gorilla node deployment. They need very little power, so solar etc is an option, and the hardware is relatively cheap.
A cheap drone could easily place nodes in hard to reach locations e.g. top of telephone poles. You now have an anonymous node that is trivial to connect to but harder to disable.
It's far from perfect, but a good option.
I also now have the image of a node built into a drone. Then it bolting, like a startled sparrow, when they try to remove it...