Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Peer-to-Peer Cell Phones?

Posted by michael on from the telephone-tag dept.

Mike writes "This Wired article mentions that research firm SRI International has come up with a nifty way to lessen the need for the ugly cell towers that you see popping up everywhere (I love the ones here in Atlanta that are oh-so-cleverly dressed up to look like pine trees). Their PacketHop software would create a sort of peer-to-peer network, utilizing the unused power in phones in the vicinity as miniature relays, with your voice/data hopping from one phone to the next until it reaches a relay tower and its final destination."

2 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. can't wait by NMerriam · · Score: 1, Redundant

    will be great fun once the packet-sniffers are available...

    --
    Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
  2. Dangers by gambit3 · · Score: 1, Redundant

    1. The Obvious: "owning" another cell phone.

    2. Radiation becomes a REAL risk, because the main broadcasting would be done by the phones, not the towers.

    3. Battery life (ok, not so much a danger as a nuisance).

    4. Spam (another nuisance).

    5. Viruses.

    I think I'll stick with my plain cell phone for now.

    --
    Watch the Teaser Trailer for "The Lightning Thief" Her