What will happen if I take gotenna mesh to a country that’s not currently on the officially supported list? Will it completely stop working?
What about 3rd world countries that don’t even have an FCC equivalent regulatory agency?
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In countries that are currently not supported, goTenna Mesh will default to frequencies and transmit power, legal for use in the United States.
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Good to know, thanks!
Where can one find this list?
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Go to goTenna.com and add Mesh to your cart. Then through checkout see the drop-down list of countries we ship to!
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D’oh! Mexico is not on the list. Does that mean I cannot legally use them there?
@perikeet Mexico is currently not supported. goTenna Mesh will default to US frequencies and power.
Hello,
I also was surprised to see you don`t support Mexico? I see several devices installed in Mexico listed on the node map, so apparently they work just fine here. Also, cellphone frequencies used in Mexico are the same as in the US, as well as power, so I am not sure why that should be an obstacle. Please reconsider, we could have used your devices here last year when we experienced a mayor earthquake (I live at the epicenter, was directly affected by this quake and was actively involved in the recovery effort in Morelos State volunteer brigades).
Each nation has their own electromagnetic spectrum management bureaucracy. Yes, there is much coordination already because the existing situation requires it along the border. Ultimately, Mexico has its own requirements when it comes to licensing, not that goTenna doesn’t want to “support” Mexico. I’m sure that goTenna would be happy to sell and ship to Mexico. This might be as much a case for Mexicans asking what is the hold-up with approvals there?
To goTenna, are they not allowed in Mexico? Because of some laws or regulations?
If not perikeet there are a few different buying option. maybe one of them could ship?
Radio laws and certifications vary between countries. Sometimes it’s OK to own, but not use a certified device. If you’re a traveler just passing through such a place, keep them in your bag and don’t use them, assuming you make it through customs OK.
In other places, mere possession of an uncertified radio can be grounds for criminal charges. It’s just not good business to ship to a customer something that could lead to legal trouble or worse, arrest. I have no idea where Mexico falls on this continuum, although I do know some goTenna Mesh units were produced there. Also remember that certification costs vary from place to place, a cost which any manufacturer has to balance against the potential sales that can be made to that market.
While there are exceptions, goTenna has made the GTM widely available, shipping to some 40 nations. To me this shows they are doing all they can to bring it to the world. If it doesn’t show up in some places, I don’t think this is a sign of them not making the effort, just that some markets and jurisdictions are more difficult to break into.
BTW, checked the shipping options at Amazon and it says: " International Shipping: This item is not eligible for international shipping."
eBay has opportunities
I just came across this thread. I travel yearly to Mexico and have always taken at least 2 goTenna mesh units with me. You never know when they may come in hand especially when driving to remote areas where cellular is choppy. Is it illegal to travel to Mexico yet alone use if your in the woods hiking? I have never been asked what they are or questioned when passing through customs.
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I didn’t see a response to your question if the mesh unit will stop working. Right?
Well, the mesh unit has no way to tell where it is, so it doesn’t care. On that note though, illegal or not, the U.S. government doesn’t have the resources to track down everybody with an unlicensed radio transmitter, Mexico probably wouldn’t even notice. So I wouldn’t worry about it. If you’re planning on setting up a more permanent relay station or something, I’d maybe look into local laws a bit, but otherwise I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.
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I’ve used the goTenna in countries where you aren’t even allowed to bring in walkie talkies and satellite phones. And they pass as nice looking flash drives or power banks.
They’ll work just fine, there’s a quick popup that it’ll default to a region. But that’s it.
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In some countries, the transmission and reception frequencies of gotenna require radio licences. The unauthorized use will be supervised or confiscated.
Possibly. Sometimes the motivation is a legitimate need to prevent interference with other users. In other cases, the sole motivation may be to repress the ability for people to communicate, which is a human right. And every sort of legal climate in between, depending on where you’re located.
People should do their own research and find their comfort level with whatever legal jurisdiction applies. And their conscience allows in some cases, where gray areas exist. I can’t stand in judgment of anyone conscientiously working to support human rights and other things I hold dear. That’s just me. I’ve seen the cost of those rights being ignored and felt it quite personally, along with having some basic training in what human rights are and how to defend them.
Fortunately, many repressive governments are not near so expert at suppressing things they don’t like, like people communicating, as their gruff manner might suggest. While it’s surely not immune to detection, its mode of transmission is a relatively difficult target to pick up and of very little consequence to other typical users of this spectrum. A transmission that interferes with no one and has a light foot print is optimized for being discrete and unnoticed.
Fortunately, the goTenna Mesh is legal to use in so many places, something baked into the design. People do travel and being at the airport passing through is different than arriving to stay with the device. Again, something to be aware of when you’re traveling. Whatever you decide, be discrete when it’s obvious being cautious is in order. It’s a tough world out there, but it only gets better when people around the world insist it must. If goTenna Mesh can help, I hope it does.
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Another company has emerged in China to develop gotenna-like devices. Current products not only support sending text information and location information, but also support sending voice information and route information. The most important thing is that it can use the Beidou satellite system of China as a repeater to send text information beyond the visual range, that is to say, it can send text information across continents.
What’s the name of this company? Cannot find anything on Google.