What about the various mesh nets around the world?
http://guifi.net/en/node/2413/view/map
There are quite a few already operating. All that's needed is to keep scaling them up by driving participation.
Re:The Un-Internet
by icebraining on Sunday January 01, 2012 @02:40PM
(#3413657)
Scaling mesh is a very hard problem, though, it's hardly just a matter of plugging in more devices. Networks over the existing Internet - like Freenet or Tor - are much more viable, in my opinion.
Even the internet that we have, developed by the US government and universities, only became the internet that we have by serendipity. I Can Haz Cheezburger was not anticipated by DARPA, BBN et al.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBN_Technologies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#History