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this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2024
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I think there is a strong tendency to put the cart before the horse when it comes to mesh networking. People imagine how cool it would be to have widespread mesh networks, but setting up a digital radio doohickey accomplishes nothing if there is nobody listening on the other end. We need social organizations first. Then, communications technology can be built to serve the needs of these organizations. It is very much a local organizing problem. The tech does not circumvent this.
The other issue of course is that mesh networks only work in very densely-populated areas.
I'm in full agreement on your points about organizing being the real task, not the tech side.
WISPs use a lot of infra mesh tech and they're also really great for low-cost network deployments in rural areas too since you don't need to dig long trenches. Just point a couple of high-gain yagis at each other every 30km or so and you're good.
The main problem with MANets is 1. TCP is incompatible with variably high latency and partial connectivity and 2. there's no IP routing algorithm that handles variable topologies well. so you end up burning the majority of the already limited wireless bandwidth on tracking routing tree changes and not on data transmission. Density is only really an issue because of problem 1. ICNs handle the latency issue more gracefully, but without a solid solution for 2 it doesn't matter lol.
That and nobody actually knows how to make mobile adhoc mesh networks beyond toy demos. I think NDN is probably the furthest along based on my reading between the lines of some routing algo papers coming from UCLA (read: .mil applications). I'm personally trying to make micro clouds (or mist computing if I'm being cheeky) a little easier and continuing research into MANets because I think its a really interesting problem that there's very little incentive to solve since the profit potential is tiny. I think a lot of this is applicable for making websites that can't be deleted, but like you say, the social organization comes first. Without the will to maintain the systems, no amount of tools will make a difference.
The infra meshes in berlin and elsewhere are basically volunteer-based wireless ISPs and can't be run without people willing to put in the work. They also aren't that much more resilient to disruption than a typical corporate WISP like starry or whatever, its just theoretically possible to have a community owned/operated setup because the infra is relatively cheap. No Se Vende Mesh is a project that was already happening in LA when I got here and I'm trying to be supportive. Some of the volunteers are struggling with motivation though because, well, its LA and organizing is hard.