Living in a rural location myself, I've been wondering too at what options there might be. I'm pretty new to this and have been trying to work out what kit would be needed. Any layman-friendly advice from out there would be appreciated ;-)
I came across this a while back:
"Building a Rural Wireless Mesh Network":
PDF here:
http://wirelessafrica.meraka.org.za/wiki/index.php/DIY_Mesh_Guide_Download
had a quick look...it was tcp-ip based and uses wifi..
wifi are short range and can be converted to long range using dish antenna. but short wave radios are more low tech, far reaching, maybe cheaper, and made from discrete circuits making them repairable(components are easily available) and hardy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrete_circuit
and the designs could be..
- shortwave radios being interconnected to internet (tcp-ip)
or
-shortwave radios having a network of their own (independent from the internet)