With Cebu City cell sites down, Sinulog revelers switch to FireChat

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Revelers attending the annual Sinulog Festival in Cebu City chatted up a storm online on Saturday, January 14, amid a shutdown of mobile phone networks in the city over security concerns. 

Since they could not use cellular networks, Cebuanos and visitors turned to the popular FireChat app instead, which allows users to send text messages and photos over bluetooth and wifi. 

The shutdown of the cellular networks was first announced on January 12 over fears that mobile phones could be used to trigger improvised explosive devices. 

In a Facebook post, Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña, apologized for the inconvenience but said the shutdown was necessary to “save lives”. He added that the Hilongos bomb that exploded in Leyte on December 28, 2016 was likely triggered by a cellphone. 

“Your safety is my priority above everything else. That said, Cebu hasn’t had a terror incident since the 90’s, so let’s hope and pray that it stays that way. We are doing everything we can to make sure it does,” wrote Mayor Osmeña. 

Cebuanos started spreading the word to use FireChat days before the scheduled shutdown. News quickly spread about the app and people began to download it.

While many enjoyed chatting with each other in an open-to-all group, others complained that the app “did not work” too well.

FireChat works by using the phone’s bluetooth and wifi radios to send text and photos to other phones with the app open, without the use of cellular data or the Internet. But, two phones need to be within a 70 meter distance to communicate. 

Open Garden, the makers of the app, say FireChat works best in densely populated areas as it creates a “mesh network” that allows a sending phone to pass messages on to other phones until it reaches its intended receiver phone. 

The company added that 160,000 people signed up for FireChat on Friday and Saturday across the Philippines, and most of of them in Cebu. 

FireChat was also used by Hong Kong residents protesting against the government in 2014 after the police shutdown the cellular network. 

The app has also been used in post-disaster zones and remote communities. – Rappler.com