Apple’s iPhone 4 has been recently making international headlines for reception problems caused by its antenna design. But what if there is a software that can let you make and receive phone calls even when there’s no network available. Well, Australian researchers have created just such a software.

Researchers at Flinders University are testing a new technology that uses the WiFi interface that is in almost all phones today, to allow multiple mobiles to create their own, small network. It actually allows mobiles to transmit calls to one another without cell towers or satellites.

“The software detects other phones in its WiFi radius, and places calls to them without needing an operator. Obviously, the big challenge for an idea like this is range. At best, a mobile phone will have a WiFi radius of a few hundred feet. And that’s in ideal circumstances – in a city or heavily urban area, the effect broadcast range will be much shorter. To fix this problem, the software also allows your phone to act as a small cell tower. It means that your phone can pick up and relay someone else’s phone call. So if there are other mobile devices in your area, your radius is much larger," explains GoMo NEWS.

Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen, who led the Flinders team, told the Australian Broadcasting Company that his device contained a compact version of a mobile phone tower into the phone itself. "So using the WiFi interface that is in many phones today that you would normally use for internet or that kind of thing, we are actually carrying voice over that but in a way that doesn't need to go back to a central repository anywhere," he said.

Flinders University is also looking at using the technology to save people during a disaster.