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EDIT: So in summary, this is not really possible, because of the scope of the software used to communicate with the antennae is to low level. It would be amazing, if this software was accessible to developers, as it would enable us to make more cool stuff. Unfortunately it isn't

I've had this idea ghosting around my mind for a while, but I don't know if it's possible. Could one develop a mesh network where phones used their internal radios to communicate with each other directly instead of first connecting to a tower? The idea being, that given proper software, cellular networks would no longer be needed. Basically: Imagine you want to use whatsapp but you don't have a data plan and you're out & about so consequently don't have wifi either. Can phone A connect to phone B (provided phone B has an internet connection) and piggyback off it's wifi?

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    Are you planning on building your own mobile OS with your own cellular radio drivers? Or, are you planning on using some existing Android device that is equipped with software-defined radio (SDR) capability? Or, are you trying to accomplish this just with some custom build of Android? Or, are you trying to accomplish this with just an app? – CommonsWare Aug 30 '17 at 17:56
  • With an app would be ideal, however I am really just curious if it works at all –  Aug 30 '17 at 17:58
  • Is there even a way to access the phones radio easily? –  Aug 30 '17 at 17:59
  • Sure, through your own build of Android or your own mobile OS. You will be limited by the cellular radio (baseband) drivers from the device manufacturers. Those radios do not have infinite flexibility: they do what the hardware and drivers allow them to do. While I cannot rule out that you can do what you are seeking, I would be fairly surprised if it is possible, let alone practical. – CommonsWare Aug 30 '17 at 18:06
  • What I can state, with confidence, is that an Android app cannot manipulate the radio in this fashion, for any conventional Android device. By "conventional", I mean "something that has been licensed for use by the FCC or equivalent authorities". SDR is the closest thing you would have to app-level control over low-level radio functionality, but SDR is not especially common. – CommonsWare Aug 30 '17 at 18:07

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