Mesh networks - 12 US communities experimenting with independent WIFI networks

Local WiFi mesh networks are an idea that would radically change how we connect. They reduce the necessity of everyone buying a connection from an internet provider, but they also would provide direct connectivity for a neighbourhood or even a city.

A mesh network creates reliable and redundant wireless internet access. Instead of relying on a wired access point to the internet like a traditional network, a mesh network uses wireless radio nodes that speak to each other, thus creating decentralized wireless access points. Because a mesh network does not have to communicate through a central organization (like an ISP), if one node goes down the network will self heal — allowing service to continue without interruption.

Within a mesh network, only one node needs to be hardwired. All the other nodes, of which there could be hundreds, do not require direct access to the internet, just access to the mesh network itself. This allows a mesh network to operate without laying new cable, or as a local network during a service outage.