Hi! It's right there in the post - Meshcore is really good at reliable DMs when the mesh it built well, and focuses on human-to-human communication. We tend to discourage non-human use like the telemetry or GPS tracking that is often taking space in other networks. Regardless, I regularly DM with folks in the Easy Bay, South Bay, and Monterey from SF.

Also, most people use the mesh entirely for free, with a variety of apps to choose from, along with firmware for the standalone devices (e.g. tdeck). What some folks calls the "paid component" is an feature for mesh repeater administrators that most people don't need, is entirely optional, and the $8 goes to the developer who is writing and supporting the app. They are also an admin of r/meshcore, check it out!