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In the Star Wars movie Rogue One, we see the Rebels communicating over the radio whilst at Light-speed. I don't recall seeing this in other Star Wars movies. (They pop out of Hyperdrive - and the situation is a big surprise).

Generally the idea of Hyperspace (note that we're making a distinction between Hyperdrive in Star Wars, and Warp Drive in Star Trek) is that you're in other dimension and can't communicate. Speaking generally - we do see a Star Trek movie make a big deal of being able to beam someone onto a ship travelling at Warp.

To me it seems that communicating over the radio at Hyperspace affects the plot (ie a Plot Hole) of some of the other Star Wars movies.

My question is: Are there any Star Wars Canon usage of 'Hyperdrive Radio' prior to Rogue One?

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    I know in the Legends stuff there are various mentions of the Hyperspace nodes used to communicate across the vast reaches of the galaxy. Logically there must be some form of FTL communications network otherwise things such as the issuing of Order 66 would take centuries to take place. In the other films has there ever been a need to communicate through hyperspace? in the OT most of the main characters are in the same ship with the exception of ROTJ where the rebel fleet already have their plan set and don't have a reason to change it till after the jump into the Endor system
    – Cearon O'Flynn
    Jan 6, 2017 at 11:40
  • In the prequels you never see anyone travelling in hyperspace, just jumping in or out, so showing them communicating in it wouldn't be possible. I am interested in what plot holes you think there are caused by the ability to radio in hyperspace
    – Cearon O'Flynn
    Jan 6, 2017 at 11:41

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Legends says that the HoloNet allows near instantaneous communication through the use of Hyperwave transceivers and relays permanently located in hyperspace. Ships can make use of this network while in hyperspace, although in the Imperial era it is strictly controlled.

Currently the HoloNet is part of new canon, but how it works has not yet been fully described, and it's not clear how much control the Empire has over it during their reign. The Tarkin novel describes a HoloNet relay based on a planet, but it's plausible that they also exist in hyperspace as in Legends. A Hyperwave transceiver is used in Aftermath: Life Debt, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with relaying signals through hyperspace. I do believe however that there are several instances in The Clone Wars of ships in hyperspace receiving hologram transmissions (presumably through the HoloNet), which suggests that the system might be similar to Legends.

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Yes

In the 2009 Season Two episode of The Clone Wars Brain Invaders, Ahsoka and Anakin are on separate ships traveling through hyperspace, and contact each other throughout the episode via comlinks, as well as Kit Fisto at a medical space station.

You can see a clip of the latter conversation here:

This is the earliest occurrence that I'm aware of in which ship-to-ship communication happens in hyperspace. It's a plot point in Brain Invaders that Anakin is expecting frequent check-ins from Ahsoka during both ships' hyperspace journeys, so as of post-2009 Legends continuity, and within Canon continuity, communication is apparently possible and routine in hyperspace.

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