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One option would be to use a setup similar to offshore sailors and cruisers: https://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Email_at_Sea https://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/E

One option would be to use a setup similar to offshore sailors and cruisers: https://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Email_at_Sea https://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Email_at_Sea or, more generally, amateur band based radio links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winlink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winlink The radios themselves get less and less expensive each year, especially with software defined radios, but unsure how easily/quickly one could get their hands on the required gear in Addis.

oriettaxx 5y ago
we though about this (we are live-aboard ourselves ) and we still have to reach Addis, so we could purchase it before arriving, but we think it's pretty dangerous to have radio equipment with us: we experienced a mob on the street (which fortunately ended up in nothing) and are scared that anything weird can make you been considered an enemy (the same would apply to a satellite phone): this is why we would prefer to just discretely use our ordinary mobile phone and nothing more.
- curryst 5y ago
  This is a salient point I hadn't considered. I absolutely would not trust a mob or even most armies if they catch you in hostile territory with a radio at all, much less a sophisticated radio that might be able to interoperate with an army's. At the high end of the price range, some of the satellite internet receivers aren't outrageously conspicious, like this [1]. I mean, it's odd looking, but you could probably pass it off as something at least semi-innocuous like a proprietary wireless receiver for audio-video gear or something. From a naive perspective, it screams "wifi" to me, rather than satellite. I'd just tear the silver regulatory label off a consumer wifi router and replace the one on that box with it. 1. https://satellitephonestore.com/catalog/sale/details/thales-missionlink-350 https://satellitephonestore.com/catalog/sale/details/thales-...
- iso1210 5y ago
  Are you really that desparate to dive into a war, it sounds like you have a choice?
  - fragmede 5y ago
    They probably don't. Or rather, they have a choice the same way everyone chooses to have a job. Family and obligations are not so easily or callously discharged.
    - oriettaxx 5y ago
      yes, exactly (plus we do not get there sailing :) :)
    - iso1210 5y ago
      That's what I assumed, until I saw "we are live-aboard ourselves" Addis Ababa is a significant way inland, and indeed Eithiopia is landlocked.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  > anything weird can make you been considered an enemy (the same would apply to a satellite phone) Keep in mind that anyone who has access to the mobile operator can easily determine that you're doing this, so make sure to take proper precautions there too. Use a brand new phone that's not associated to you in any way from a location that can't be correlated with you, so that if they review call logs and see your suspicious long-lasting data calls they won't be able to find you.
  - tomc1985 5y ago
    > so that if they review call logs and see your suspicious long-lasting data calls they won't be able to find you. I have heard of multiple countries targeting airstrikes or artillery using triangulated cell phone signals
    - smoldesu 5y ago
      To my understanding, it's trivial. AFAIK, LTE even allows you to be positionally tracked via signal strength and position relative to the tower, no triangulation needed. I've also seen some evidence that new Wifi standards will also allow for this, which is utterly terrifying.
      - curryst 5y ago
        > I've also seen some evidence that new Wifi standards will also allow for this, which is utterly terrifying. There are legitimate uses for this, but it's frustrating that we have to feel opposed because it will definitely be abused. I for one would like to be able to implement my own presence tracking for rooms in my house without needing additional hardware. I just don't want Facebook to do the same thing.

oriettaxx 5y ago

we though about this (we are live-aboard ourselves ) and we still have to reach Addis, so we could purchase it before arriving, but we think it's pretty dangerous to have radio equipment with us: we experienced a mob on the street (which fortunately ended up in nothing) and are scared that anything weird can make you been considered an enemy (the same would apply to a satellite phone): this is why we would prefer to just discretely use our ordinary mobile phone and nothing more.

curryst 5y ago
This is a salient point I hadn't considered. I absolutely would not trust a mob or even most armies if they catch you in hostile territory with a radio at all, much less a sophisticated radio that might be able to interoperate with an army's. At the high end of the price range, some of the satellite internet receivers aren't outrageously conspicious, like this [1]. I mean, it's odd looking, but you could probably pass it off as something at least semi-innocuous like a proprietary wireless receiver for audio-video gear or something. From a naive perspective, it screams "wifi" to me, rather than satellite. I'd just tear the silver regulatory label off a consumer wifi router and replace the one on that box with it. 1. https://satellitephonestore.com/catalog/sale/details/thales-missionlink-350 https://satellitephonestore.com/catalog/sale/details/thales-...
iso1210 5y ago
Are you really that desparate to dive into a war, it sounds like you have a choice?
- fragmede 5y ago
  They probably don't. Or rather, they have a choice the same way everyone chooses to have a job. Family and obligations are not so easily or callously discharged.
  - oriettaxx 5y ago
    yes, exactly (plus we do not get there sailing :) :)
  - iso1210 5y ago
    That's what I assumed, until I saw "we are live-aboard ourselves" Addis Ababa is a significant way inland, and indeed Eithiopia is landlocked.
Nextgrid 5y ago
> anything weird can make you been considered an enemy (the same would apply to a satellite phone) Keep in mind that anyone who has access to the mobile operator can easily determine that you're doing this, so make sure to take proper precautions there too. Use a brand new phone that's not associated to you in any way from a location that can't be correlated with you, so that if they review call logs and see your suspicious long-lasting data calls they won't be able to find you.
- tomc1985 5y ago
  > so that if they review call logs and see your suspicious long-lasting data calls they won't be able to find you. I have heard of multiple countries targeting airstrikes or artillery using triangulated cell phone signals
  - smoldesu 5y ago
    To my understanding, it's trivial. AFAIK, LTE even allows you to be positionally tracked via signal strength and position relative to the tower, no triangulation needed. I've also seen some evidence that new Wifi standards will also allow for this, which is utterly terrifying.
    - curryst 5y ago
      > I've also seen some evidence that new Wifi standards will also allow for this, which is utterly terrifying. There are legitimate uses for this, but it's frustrating that we have to feel opposed because it will definitely be abused. I for one would like to be able to implement my own presence tracking for rooms in my house without needing additional hardware. I just don't want Facebook to do the same thing.