How To Stay Connected When MTN Network Shuts Down Again.

The mobile phone and the internet have become an integral part of our lives. According to research, the average internet user spends 2 hours, 24 minutes daily on the internet as our modern society depends on these connectivities for communication.

On October 9, 2021, the Mobile network operator, MTN suffered outages in many parts of Nigeria. This occurred just a few days after Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram experienced their worst-ever outage which lasted for 7 hours. The disruption affected calls and data services.

Many of the Network subscribers complained that the network shutdown resulted in the loss of money in their personal businesses, while others stated it affected their communications with the outside world. This loss of communication is extremely isolating, and potentially very dangerous.

So here is how to stay connected in case the MTN  or any of the networks provider shuts down again.

1. Bridgefy

Bridgefy is an offline messaging application that allows users to connect with one another without an internet connection or SMS. The App lets you send offline messages to friends and family within 330 ft (100 m) when you don’t have access to the Internet, by simply turning on your Bluetooth antenna.

2. Fire chat

FireChat is a proprietary mobile app,  which uses wireless mesh networking to enable smartphones to connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity Framework without an internet connection by connecting peer-to-peer.  Fire chat Secure communication across the mesh network, with a range of 60 m for Android users and 100 m for iOS.

3. Signal Offline Messenger

Signal Offline Messenger is a Wifi Direct-based offline messaging app. Signal allows you to communicate without the internet or local network in a range of up to 100 meters. and is only available on Android devices.

4. Briar

Briar is an open-source software communication technology, intended to provide secure and resilient peer-to-peer communications with no centralized servers and minimal reliance on external infrastructure. Connections are made through Bluetooth, WiFi, or over the internet via Tor and all private communication is end-to-end encrypted. Relevant content is stored in encrypted form on participating devices

5. Vojer

Vojer app has its own secure anonymous peer-to-peer (p2p) network that lets you chat with your peers, use PTT, exchange photos, voice, and text messages. Vojer is built purposely for offline and places with weak or no Internet coverage.