A problem with this is that wifi range is too limited. It'd be better if part of the FRS band was repurposed for emergency mesh data connections, with support

A problem with this is that wifi range is too limited. It'd be better if part of the FRS band was repurposed for emergency mesh data connections, with support baked into the cellphones themselves. The throughput wouldn't be stellar, but that doesn't matter if you're only sending text messages or other small messages (such as GPS coordinates). Perhaps that wouldn't matter in an urban environment, if uptake is high enough, or if someone puts in solar-powered repeaters to span large gaps.