"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)
arielbit, thanks for this. I'm still looking into the pros and cons of shortwave for this application - plenty to learn! For instance, do you know how/if the "Rural Mesh Network" above could be adapted to be independent from the internet?
I wonder about the practicality of a meshnet when a government has an explicit ban on them, I'm unaware of anything like that in the EU.
Yes, I was wondering this too.
But even if innovations in this area were not available to the public you would still likely get network enclaves and at the very least high capacity USB data stick swapping (as in North Korea with distribution of western and eastern media) and perhaps even dead-drops of data.
And it reminds me too of hearing those cryptic numbers stations messages - a relic of the Cold War - during the 80s on SW here in the UK.