Casey Johnston:
Individual phones can also act as relay points, and theoretically should be able to bridge together a phone in a remote area with no service to one with access to the cellular network, where the call can finally be relayed to its intended recipient.
This is really cool — as many of us know, when a disaster hits the cellphone networks start getting overloaded. This is a huge problem for emergency responders as they have to begin to rely on older technology to keep in touch. I could see this being a huge draw from agencies like FEMA to us in the field — as well as search and rescue operations that often happen well outside the coverage area.