|15 April 2017|
Smartphones are like a second skin to many but the handheld lifeline often becomes obsolete in remote locations or in areas hit by natural disasters – until recently.
A US startup was inspired to find a solution to such limitations after watching the devastation of hurricane Sandy in 2012 destroy cell towers – and with it – vital communications.
goTenna’s devices allow smartphone users to keep lines open in completely off-grid scenarios, regardless of coverage, infrastructure or wifi support – this is invaluable. Whether in outdoor leisure situations, where people want to simply keep in touch, or in truly life and death scenarios caused by emergencies, goTenna’s innovations are reshaping the communications landscape.
Striving to “build practical bottom-up communication networks” which can support connectivity “anytime, anywhere” is the vision, as laid out by co-founder and CEO, Daniela Perdomo.
And this week the Brooklyn company announced its latest funding round has brought in $7.5 million, led by Union Square Ventures (USV). In the past 14 months the vision and products have attracted a total investment of $17 million.
Since the launch of goTenna the company has introduced its Mesh and Pro instalments of the platform. The mesh network allows for long-range communications between users who can send information to each other by bouncing messages off other device holders. The Pro is designed for more industrial, public safety enterprises and comes with additional support tech for this market.
