Ask Slashdot: Could We Build A Global Wireless Mesh Network?

An anonymous reader wants to start a grassroots effort to build a self-organizing global radio mesh network where every device can communicate with every other device -- and without any central authority. There is nothing in the rules of mathematics or laws of physics that prevents such a system. But how would you break the problem up so it could be crowdfunded and sourced? How would you build the radios? And what about government spectrum rules... How would you persuade governments to allow for the use of say, 1%, of the spectrum for an unlicensed mesh experiment? In the U.S. it would probably take an Act of Congress to overrule the FCC but a grassroots effort with potential for major technology advances backed by celebrity scientists might be enough to tilt the issue but would there be enough motivation?
Is this feasible? Would it amass enough volunteers, advocates, and enthusiastic users? Would it become a glorious example of geeks uniting the world -- or a doomed fantasy with no practical applications. Leave your best thoughts in the comments. Could we build a global wireless mesh network?

Comments

Re: Routing

[TWX]

Routing was the first problem that came to my mind too. An unreliable network requires a fast routing protocol, but fast routing protocols are very traffic-intensive for large networks. A large wireless mesh network would spend an inordinate amount of it's bandwidth just keeping converged.

That's before dealing with security/trust issues. It's already proving a problem on slow routing protocols as the recent Russian incident shows where relatively few people have to be trusted, it would be much worse with every small player possibly being able to make adverse changes.

No.

[Anonymous Coward]

Next question.