Date: December 2021
Amount: $335,940

Rhizomatica is a US-based global non-profit organization that works as a bridge between communication system engineers and developers and the users of these systems in the developing world. Rhizomatica was the first organizations to deploy autonomous mobile telephony systems in the global south, specifically in Oaxaca, Mexico. The organization has been recognized for their work on digital HF solutions to provide telecommunication and radio services for isolated communities in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil and Ecuador.

This grant will allow Rhizomatic to continue development of the High-Frequency Emergency and Rural Multimedia Exchange System (HERMES), enabling the system to provide a modern digital telecommunication system for HF, for both civil and amateur radio use. The goal is to develop and implement an open-source digital HF telecommunication system protocol which will look much more like a WiFi or LTE system than currently existing solutions for HF. This includes supporting multiple concurrent users, diverse network topologies, channel aggregation, automatic channel selection, and secure authentication options.

Learn more at: https://rhizomatica.org/hermes/.

HERMES: Messenger of the Amazon from Rhizomatica Communications on Vimeo.