In 2009 when South African IT communication was essentially only permitted through a single entity, as a publicity stunt a small ISP did an implementation of this:
As I recall at the time, the best consumer speeds available were 512kbps with a 3GB per month cap at today’s cost of about 45USD.
The worst part (especially as a WoW player) is that QoS was applied giving priority to ports 80, 443, 110 and 25. This resulted in all other ports having terrible latency, probably added 150ms on top of the unavoidable (due to speed of light) 190ms to get to European servers.
Fortunately today the situation is much better, there are numerous FNO companies and even more numerous ISPs for each.
I pay about 45 USD for an uncapped 100Mbps connection.
Back in the late 90s I delivered a couple of LTO drives and a bunch of tapes to a Customer in my car (not a station wagon, sadly). As I drove I thought "drive faster to decrease the latency!"
(The car was a Geo Metro and my co-workers described it as not much bigger than one of the backup tapes-- one of them likening it to some kind of interchangeable backup module itself.)
> One major benefit to using Avian Carriers is that this is the only networking technology that earns frequent flyer miles, plus the Concorde and First classes of service earn 50% bonus miles per packet.
That's funny, but let's make it more plausible and less-sci-fish-ly satirical :)
Proposal: Using Trained Carrier Pigeons as Emergency Data Relays
Objective
Create a simple, low-tech way to move digital messages across a large area when internet, radio, and phone networks are completely blocked.
Core Idea
Pigeons carry small memory cards with the messages from one station to the next, like a chain of human couriers but using birds.
Steps to Set Up
1. Build small pigeon lofts (homes) at key locations across the area (e.g., every 50–100 km).
2. Train homing pigeons to fly reliably between each pair of nearby lofts (standard pigeon training methods).
3. At each loft, install a simple automatic device that:
- Reads data from a memory card the arriving pigeon carries
- Copies the data to a new memory card
- Attaches the new card to an outgoing pigeon
4. Attach a tiny, lightweight memory card (e.g., microSD in a small protective tube) to each pigeon’s leg.
5. People at the starting point load their digital messages (text, small files) onto the card and send the pigeon.
6. Pigeons fly to the next loft → data is copied → next pigeon flies onward → repeat until the final destination.
Basic Protocol Rules
- Each message gets a clear label (e.g., “To: City B, From: City A, Priority: High”).
- Stations check cards daily and send pigeons in both directions when possible.
- Use only trained, healthy pigeons; rest them between flights.
- Protect cards from water and impact with a small, sealed case.
Realistic Performance
- Speed: Hours to several days per hop, depending on distance and weather.
- Capacity: One 256 GB card can carry thousands of text messages or a few large files.
- Reliability: Works in no-power situations; depends on pigeon health and weather.
Damage Control
-Add cyanide to the chip in case the pigeon gets captured.
This is a proven concept (used in wars before radio) updated with modern tiny storage.
https://pigeonrace2009.co.za/
As I recall at the time, the best consumer speeds available were 512kbps with a 3GB per month cap at today’s cost of about 45USD.
The worst part (especially as a WoW player) is that QoS was applied giving priority to ports 80, 443, 110 and 25. This resulted in all other ports having terrible latency, probably added 150ms on top of the unavoidable (due to speed of light) 190ms to get to European servers.
Fortunately today the situation is much better, there are numerous FNO companies and even more numerous ISPs for each.
I pay about 45 USD for an uncapped 100Mbps connection.
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