Distance
How far a message can go
Line of sight matters for a single hop. Mesh is what gets a message around obstacles, across longer distances, and across gaps in time.
If you can see the other device, Blackout Comms can usually deliver directly. That is the easy case. Mesh is the interesting one: a packet can sit on any cluster device, including one in someone’s pocket, until a path opens. Early distance testing is in this video, shot on a very early prototype.
Single hop, then up to 89 more
Every hop still has to complete. A cluster can use up to 89 hops, and those hops are allowed up to 24 hours.
Direct, instant, one-hop deliveries with a signed confirmation have been made at 41 km, more than once, in flat Midwestern farmland. Neither device was on a mountain. A height advantage would do better. Results vary with device, antenna, amplifier, and terrain. Bench notes from that testing are in the reviews.
Need more than radio range?
An MQTT bridge on any compatible 2.4 GHz internet source — a phone hotspot, Starlink, or similar — is just another hop available to the cluster. To the protocol, it is not a special case.