https://www.restaurantdepot.com/
I don't know if this is a regional only thing but there are brick and mortar restaurant supply stores. You usually need a membership to buy from them but you can bulk buy the same food and supplies that restaurants buy.
I think the surprise here is that WiFi routers were not built with surveillance hardware in mind. At least at first.
If there was an option to buy a router with surveillance sonar vs a router without sonar, I'm sure most people would buy the one without the surveillance hardware. But unfortunately it doesn't seem like anyone has that option if they want to use WiFi.
I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to use helicopters to transport them? Or create a series of drones specifically designed to carry them?
Here's a boring mundane reason that could be fun. Ancient Egyptian pyramid builders were given beer as payment.
You could have the local evil person have an army of builders building some evil building, supplementing their pay with beer. Such a massive work force would require a lot of beer siphoning off most of the local supply. As the beer supply dwindles, the price increases.