HONG KONG, September 29 -- A mobile messaging application enabling users to communicate without internet access has seen large numbers of new sign-ups from Hong Kong as pro-democracy demonstrators in the territory scrambled for alternative means of communication amid the weekend’s protests.
Hong Kong protest organisers called on participants to download the application on Sunday, when rumours circulated that the city’s government would shut down cellphone networks in Admiralty. While the cellular networks were not deactivated in Hong Kong on Sunday, some protesters reported bad cellphone reception. FireChat, launched only in March this year, allows smartphone users to communicate via Bluetooth or WiFi, an alternative to cellphone networks. Its chat-rooms, dubbed “firechats”, allow users to communicate without exchanging data with traditional cellular networks. These live and anonymous discussion groups can gather as many as 10,000 people simultaneously, according to Open Garden. Benoliel declined to reveal the application’s total number of users. Groups in support of Hong Kong’s protests in Australia, Canada, the US and the UK have also turned to FireChat to communicate on the protests, Benoliel said. Source: De Peet Journal
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