Meshtastic - The Beginning of a Vertical

Jonathan Bennett, core developer and co-founder of Meshtastic Solutions, and Tony Good, hardware designer and entrepreneur, talk about the evolution of Meshtastic from a grassroots mesh network to a tool with real commercial potential.Meshtastic began as a communication system for hikers and adventurers operating beyond cell coverage. Today, it’s proving useful in disaster response, search and rescue, vehicle tracking, and other use cases where reliable, off-grid communication is essential. Jonathan explains how the core team, alongside a global group of contributors, is hardening the platform with better encryption, Linux support, and integration tools to make it easier for businesses to adopt.Tony shares how he built a business around designing rugged, user-friendly Meshtastic cases and complete devices, helping users deploy the tech without needing to source and print their own enclosures. He highlights how demand for ready-made devices has grown as more public service organizations and small businesses explore using Meshtastic.Together, they talk about:Meshtastic’s value in off-grid communication for emergency response and field operationsReal-world examples including blackout recovery in Portugal and large-scale search and rescueHow sensors are starting to be integrated to expand Meshtastic’s capabilities beyond messagingOpportunities to bridge small mesh networks with the internet using MQTTThe role of Meshtastic Solutions in providing consulting and vendor partnerships to support adoption in business contextsMeshtastic is at the start of a vertical shift from hobbyist project to deployable infrastructure—and this episode shows where it’s going next.Links:Company site: https://meshtastic.com/Helium Global IoT Coverage - Want to know if Helium coverage exists where you need it? Check out this map!Helium Foundation - The Helium Foundation's IoT Working Group (IOTWG) has generously provided support for the first 6 months of shows, please go check them out and consider using the Helium LoRaWAN as a primary or backup on your next deployment. With over a quarter million gateways deployed worldwide, it's likely that you have and can use Helium coverage.Support The Show - If you'd like to support the MetSci Show financially, here's where you can donate on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Thank you!MetSci Show - If you'd like to use our IoT or AI Data Value calculators, or you'd like to contact me, the MetSci Show site is the best way to do it. MeteoScientific Console - Use LoRaWAN - The MeteoScientific Console allows you to use LoRaWAN today. As long as you have Helium coverage (and you probably do, about 90% of populated areas in the world have a gateway within 2 miles), you can onboard a sensor. You can always check coverage at https://explorer.helium.com and switch to the "IoT" tab in the top right.