Networked communications play a significant role in Alien: Covenant, in the forms of nearby radio communications, long-range surface to orbit communications, and interstellar transmissions back to Earth. On the surface of the planet, everyone has a personal radio device that they can use to both transmit to and receive from anyone else, as well as with the shuttle they landed on the surface in. The shuttle and the Covenant have more powerful radio systems that allow them to communicate despite the large distance between the Covenant in orbit and the surface team on the ground. These communications are disrupted by a large storm, and for a significant portion of the movie the ground team is unable to communicate with the colony ship. Finally, the Covenant has a very-long-range transmitter to send messages back to Earth, which they do at the beginning and end of the movie to report on the status of the colony ship and its crew. This serves to provide the audience with a small amount of extra exposition, helping to establish the Covenant's place in the overall story of the Alien series.
The networked communications systems are all very realistic and achievable with our current technology. They are all based on radio transmission, and the interstellar transmissions are accurately limited by the speed of light, preventing the Covenant from having any significant conversation with Earth. The planetary and orbital communications are disrupted by weather events, similarly to how radio frequencies can be disrupted by storms in real life. A majority of the communication is audio-only, but the portable radio transmitter has a video screen, and is capable of both transmitting and receiving video. While the radio system could have been reduced in size and weight if video was removed, the ability of the system to transmit and receive through a powerful storm is likely because the antenna must be stationary, allowing the Covenant's transmitters to focus the transmission over a smaller area.