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Comment by inetsee | Hacker News Reader

Can anyone comment on the utility of mesh networks in rural areas, where the big ISPs say "Sorry, not interested", and the distances between potential nodes is high? I have read articles in the past about hardware hackers setting up systems to broadcast WiFi signals for exceptional distances. Could a system of mesh networks provide rural America (or other countries) with low cost / high speed internet service?

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I have set up wireless bridges that could supposedly under optimum conditions, connect to one another over 11 miles.

So with line of sight I know you could 'beam internet' from either a plain old ISP connection OR from an internet exchange.

This was consumer grade equipment too, I am sure there is much much stronger out there.

As far as the potential of mesh in rural areas, I think one of those two options should be workable. Of course there are costs and geography that may hinder.

Point to point wireless links can definitely be used as long as you’ve got line of sight between the endpoints.

In Catalunya we’ve had such a network for many years and it is specifically used for providing connectivity to rural parts of the country. It’s called Guifi.net and has over 30,000 nodes. I was surprised it wasn’t mentioned in the article actually.

Guifi.net is actually mentioned halfway through the article.

It was mentioned.

> While there are mesh networks dotting the U.S., she says the best working example of what mesh technology can do is in Spain. Guifi.net has more than 34,000 nodes covering an area of roughly 50,000 square kilometres across the Catalonia region.

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