Volk Wireless

Volk Wireless (also known as Volk Fi) is a startup building a distributed, crowdsourced mobile network and a companion Android smartphone designed to provide phone and data service without reliance on traditional carriers. The company's vision is that when wireless is intelligently applied, the whole world can have an affordable, reliable network. Volk's approach uses long-range Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 915 MHz frequencies) to build a mesh network where users collectively extend coverage. Their flagship device, the Volk1 phone, pairs with the VolkFi mobile network — which offers a free basic internet tier — to give users connectivity in areas underserved by traditional carriers. Founded by Straya Markovic, who was previously a co-founder of BitTorrent, the company raised $2.12M in seed funding and is headquartered in San Francisco.