A lot of hams think the Automatic Packet Reporting System is a system for broadcasting your location, and maybe your status. But the APRS is really a lot of local general-purpose low-speed message-switched* networks joined together by the big Internet (the one we’re on rn) into another inter-network.

*Yeahh, it says packet in the name and is based on AX.25, but really the APRS is only capable of routing complete messages

It’s primitive compared to the Internet but still very useful because of how widespread it is (I’m in some place you could describe as the “middle of nowhere” rn and there are still internet-connected APRS stations and digipeaters in range). The APRS is source-routed, meaning the sender of packets specifies the route they take through the network. You can specify a direct route for your packets to take through the network but most people leave this routing information set to the default on their radio, which is usually something like WIDE1-N,WIDE2-N where N specifies the number of times a packet is rebroadcast by any forwarding-capable station (digipeater) in range (this is how your position and status beacons get distributed to a wide area).

If you’re familiar at all with the history of the APRS then you know its original purpose was to distribute information of local interest and it still does this but is now capable of so much more. You can send and receive text messages (including to the phones of non-hams), e-mails, get weather information, find out when satellites pass over your area, check into APRS nets, subscribe to groups and bulletins, and more.

Even if you’re truly in the middle of nowhere with nothing and no one around, you can still keep in contact with people and beacon your location via one of the satellites carrying internet-connected APRS stations, no commercial satellite subscription and proprietary radio required (don’t rely on it though lol). Even the International Space Station has an APRS station aboard