inland nw mesh
serving spokane county, wa · kootenai county, id · and growing
community-built. resilient. open.
Inland NW Mesh is a volunteer-driven community initiative dedicated to designing, building, and maintaining a decentralized, off-grid mesh communication network across the Inland Northwest. Our mission is to put resilient, community-owned connectivity into the hands of everyday people — particularly when traditional infrastructure fails.
- [01] provide a robust backup communication layer for emergency and disaster scenarios
- [02] build and operate a fully decentralized network owned and maintained by the community, not a single entity
- [03] expand coverage across Spokane County, WA and Kootenai County, ID, with continued regional growth
- [04] remain free and open — no subscriptions, no central servers, no single point of failure
- [05] educate and empower residents to participate in and contribute to the network
When earthquakes, wildfires, ice storms, or infrastructure attacks disable cellular towers and the internet, communities are left without the ability to coordinate. Inland NW Mesh exists to change that. By deploying a mesh of independently powered, low-cost LoRa radio nodes across the region, we have built a communication backbone that operates completely independent of commercial infrastructure — surviving outages that silence every other channel.
| radio technology | LoRa (Long Range) spread-spectrum modulation |
| firmware | MeshCore — open-source mesh networking firmware for LoRa devices |
| frequency band | 915 MHz ISM (US unlicensed) |
| frequency range | 902 – 928 MHz |
| transmit power | up to 30 dBm (1 W) — configurable per node + regulatory limits |
| modulation | LoRa CSS (Chirp Spread Spectrum), SF7–SF12 adaptive |
| typical range | 1 – 15+ miles per node (terrain and antenna dependent) |
| network topology | fully decentralized peer-to-peer mesh; no central server required |
| encryption | AES-128 / AES-256 end-to-end encrypted channels; PKI-based device identity |
| message routing | store-and-forward flooding with hop-count TTL; path-redundant |
| power options | USB-C, solar, battery — enables off-grid deployment |
| node hardware | ESP32-based LoRa dev boards (T-Beam, T3S3, Heltec, RAK, others) |
| current coverage | Spokane County, WA — majority urban/suburban; extending into Kootenai County, ID |
| redundancy | multi-path mesh routing; loss of any single node does not break the network |
Inland NW Mesh currently operates as a community volunteer group. We are in the process of filing for 501(c)(3) non-profit status, which will allow us to accept tax-deductible donations, apply for grants, and formalize our governance structure. Until that filing is complete, the group operates on donated time, equipment, and community goodwill.
- deploy a node help extend coverage in your neighborhood or rural area
- volunteer assist with installations, documentation, and community outreach
- donate equipment LoRa nodes, antennas, solar panels, enclosures — always needed
- spread the word connect us with emergency management agencies, HAM radio clubs, preparedness groups