>There's just one catch: Users have to be within range of each other. Outdoors, this could mean up to a kilometer. Indoors, users may have to be as close as a f

>There's just one catch: Users have to be within range of each other. Outdoors, this could mean up to a kilometer. Indoors, users may have to be as close as a few hundred yards. I got my first Amateur Radio (HAM) license when I was 16, along with my (late) father who helped me study and pass the incredibly challenging test, which im proud to say I got through. The year was ~1996. Few people had cell phones, and those that did were just about as happy with the service as we are today with AT&T. I remember I was on a scouting hike in the Los Angeles mountains when we saw a wildfire break out up ahead. One of my leaders told us "hey, I just got this new cell phone, let me call it in." After a few minutes of looking for a signal, and finally getting one but it not going through, I tuned my 2 Meter handheld to the Catalina Isle. (off the coast of California) repeater and called for a CQ emergency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CQ_(call) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CQ_(call) and within 10 seconds got someone who returned my call, took the details, and we were done. Within 20 minutes we saw a helicopter fly overhead and started to hear sirens. We don't have to complicate our lives as we hack up new technology to convenience others or create new standards with limits like this. With 5w of power, my 90's handheld rig connected 150miles away over the Pacific and got the job done. Not only is being a HAM radio operator a fun hobby, it's free, and it works.