Birmingham Mesh is a community group in Birmingham, Alabama working to create a mesh network of solar-powered Meshcore radios.
This network acts like a city-wide text messaging system, allowing people to communicate publicly or privately with anyone on the mesh network. ALSO, NO LICENSE IS REQUIRED!
All of this happens without any external infrastructure – no commercial power or cell phone towers. The mesh network can utilize the Internet, but does not require the Internet.
How does it work?
We are setting up a number of solar-powered radio repeaters in Birmingham. These radios communicate on 910.525 MHz using the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LoRa
The radios automatically mesh together with other Meshcore devices using the open-source Meshcore software.
Users can connect to these repeaters by Bluetooth if they’re close enough, or they can use their own handheld nodes which will also act as repeaters. The messages hop from node to node, extending the reach of the network and ensuring everyone receives every message.
Can you explain it like I’m 5?
Pretend you’re sitting in class and want to send a note to everyone in the class. You write your note on a piece of paper and copy it three times. The message can be up to 228 characters – about as long as this paragraph so far. You hand those three pieces of paper to the three people around you. Then those three people re-write the message three times and hand it to the three people around them and so on. Now imagine a big gust of wind comes and blows away some of the messages. If even just a few people saw the note and keep copying and re-sending it, eventually everyone will get a copy of the note. This is like sending an unencrypted message to everyone on the network.
Now imagine you want to send a message to a single person or a select group of people but you don’t want other people who see the note to be able to read it. You could write the note using a secret language. You could then hand a decoder key to your friend or to a group of friends and they could decode the message. The message still gets passed the same way – with every single person writing the message a few times and handing it to everyone – but only those people with the decoder key will be able to understand the message. This is like sending an encrypted direct message or encrypted group message.
Birmingham Mesh works the same way as this paper example, but instead of sending paper notes, we are using digital text messages and sending it with radio waves. Our radios are solar powered and they don’t need any i\Internet or cell phone coverage. This means they will work even if the power is out.
What can it do?
Meshcore is a bit like a decentralized social media platform or SMS text messaging. It has a number of different features which will be familiar to anyone who has sent a text message or posted on social media.
1) Public Channel:
You can broadcast an unencrypted message to the Public Channel and everyone on your mesh will see it. This is a bit like “posting” publicly on a social media platform.
2) Group Channels:
You can send an encrypted message to a select group of people on a Secondary Channel and everyone who is subscribed to that channel will get it. People can join the channel if you provide them with an encryption key which you can send to them via Direct Message or which they can scan from a QR code in person. This is a bit like a private group on social media, or a group text message chain on SMS.
3) Direct Messages
You can send encrypted direct messages to people on the mesh. This is like a private text message or a DM on social medial.
4) Location:
If you choose to enable it you can send your location to the mesh and it will show up on everyone’s map in the app.
Why build this network?
1) Community:
Because this is essentially a city-wide group text message chain, we are hoping people use the network to build community. Tell the group where your band is playing tonight, chat about local politics, ask for a good cheese dip recipe, etc.
2) Disasters:
If the power goes out, this network should allow people to continue to communicate with each other without electricity, cell phone coverage, or Internet. This big city-wide group text chain could allow people to ask for help or offer assistance. People could get information about where warming centers are open or ask who in their neighborhood still has power. People could also send encrypted direct messages to check in on friends and family or they could send encrypted group messages to coordinate privately in a group.
3) Decentralized, Open, and Resilient:
Birmingham Mesh is decentralized – there is no central server or corporation – all the communication bounces through the entire mesh. Birmingham Mesh is open to everyone – you don’t have to ask permission to join and all of the software is open-source. Birmingham Mesh is resilient – our solar-powered radios don’t need cell phone towers, internet access, or electricity. We hope this project will inspire others to build things that are decentralized, open, and resilient.
What kind of coverage does the mesh network have?
As of Summer 2026, we have coverage is much of the greater Birmingham Area.
How can I join the network?
1) Get a Meshtastic Radio capable of operating on 915 MHz (NOT 433 MHz AND NOT 866 MHz), then pair it with your smartphone via Bluetooth.
Here are some suggestions on AlabamaMesh.org
2) Download the Meshcore on your iPhone or Android.
3) Pair your radio to your phone with Bluetooth.
4) Open the Meshcore app and say hi!
How can I join the group?
You can email us to become an official member and attend our in-person meetings in Birmingham. You can also follow us on Twitter,
BirminghamMesh.org 