Rhizomatica, a nonprofit founded by Peter Bloom, has developed HERMES, an open-source digital shortwave radio system that enables remote and indigenous communities to send files, data, and encrypted messages over long distances using minimal infrastructure. The system has proven valuable in emergency situations, such as coordinating rescues for fishing vessels in the Bay of Bengal, and enables transmission of critical information like GPS coordinates, medical data, and evidence documentation that would be impractical to communicate via voice alone.
An autopatch is a feature on amateur radio repeaters and base stations that allows users with DTMF-capable transceivers to make telephone calls, typically limited to local or toll-free numbers. Primarily used for emergency connectivity in areas with lost telephone access, the practice has existed since early amateur radio and is regulated in the United States by FCC rules prohibiting music on hold.