For a long time field communication offered two options: a mobile network with unlimited range but total dependence on infrastructure, or a radio that was independent but short of range. Hybrid communication removes the need to choose between them.
Having to choose between two worlds
For a long time field communication offered two options, and both meant giving something up.
The first was the mobile network: fast, unlimited in range, familiar to everyone. But when the infrastructure collapsed or coverage ran out, you were left with nothing. The second was the two-way radio: independent of infrastructure, but limited in range, with no record kept and no way to gather the field picture in one centre.
So teams often carried both systems, switching to one when the other cut out. Two separate systems means two separate records, two sets of habits, and time lost at the moment of switching.
Hybrid communication removes that choice.
What hybrid means
BosNets is not tied to a single carrier. Where there is coverage, messages travel over the internet; where there is none, the mesh network the devices build among themselves takes over.
The important part is that the switch is automatic. The user does not press a button, does not move between modes, and most of the time does not even notice it happened. The app is the same, the conversation is the same, the map is the same.
Where the two modes differ
Working over the internet there is no range limit. Message history, task assignments and BosLog records sync with the server in real time. Two teams in different cities can be on the same network.
Working over the mesh, range depends on the chain of devices in the field and the data carried is simpler: written messages, locations and status information. In return, no external infrastructure is needed at all.
When coverage returns, everything that happened during the time on the mesh syncs with the server. Time spent outside coverage leaves no gap in the record.
Bridging: one person can connect the whole team
This is where the most useful consequence of the hybrid design shows up.
In an operation, the whole team is rarely outside coverage. Often the team is down in a valley while somebody is up on the ridge, or in a vehicle, or near the coordination centre, and that person's phone has signal.
That one person acts as a bridge between the team and the internet. The team outside coverage gets its message to the bridging person over the mesh, and their phone carries it onto the internet. In this way personnel standing somewhere with no coverage at all can communicate with a coordination centre in another city.
What it means in the field
Because of this, the coordination centre is not blinded the moment the team moves out of coverage. The manager keeps seeing everyone in the field on the BosLog screen and keeps assigning tasks.
By the same token the team in the field is not cut off from the centre. A single device that reaches coverage makes the entire team behind it visible.
That is where it earns its keep in practice: instead of waiting for the whole operation to be inside coverage, the team's own internal connection is enough.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to configure anything for hybrid working?
No. The system decides for itself whether there is coverage and uses the appropriate path. There is no mode to switch on the user's side; the app, the conversation and the map are the same in both cases.
Are messages lost while I am outside coverage?
No. When you come back into coverage, everything that happened in the meantime syncs with the server, so no gap is left in the record.
Does the bridging person have to do anything?
No. Someone inside coverage is already connected to both the mesh and the internet, so the bridge forms by itself. That person does not need to take any extra step or touch their phone.
Is there a range limit when working over the internet?
There is none. Working over the internet, teams in different cities can be on the same network. The range limit applies only in mesh mode, depending on the chain of devices in the field.