LothalNet, a widespread network of communications towers situated on the planet of Lothal, served to manage air traffic among the planet's various settlements and directed travelers toward spaceports. This system was eventually replaced by a more sophisticated Imperial network around 5 BBY. After the Empire took control of the Western Zone, LothalNet comm tower E-272, which was positioned in grid Q6, became obsolete, leading the thief Ezra Bridger to inhabit the abandoned tower. Bridger made reference to Lothalnet within his own journal, which saw publication in or after that year.
The initial, though implicit, reference to LothalNet occurred in A New Hero, a book for young readers authored by Pablo Hidalgo and made available to the public on August 5, 2014. Its specific naming occurred later in Rebel Journal by Ezra Bridger, another book aimed at young readers, penned by Daniel Wallace, and released on October 21, 2014.