2

If it could be done, it would. But what are the driving forces preventing a company from creating a device that could connect to numerous other routers/devices and relay the information throughout an entire network assuming the devices are within range of eachother. Essentially I'm thinking of a web of wireless routers/devices that handle the internet instead of a cable company?

Is the main issue that there would be too many competing signals and they would drown each other out?

TruthOf42
  • 171
  • 1
  • 5
  • 4
    You answered it by yourself. There aren't enough frequencies out there for all the people to connect wirelessly. Further, "assuming all devices are in range" is a huge assumption. On top of that, an ISP doesnt just give you a cable, they give you a service by maintaining all the infrastructure; not everyone is capable of troubleshooting such a vast network and someone has to plan for the backbone. That said, loon into wireless metropolitan networks hobbyists have been setting up all around the world a few years now and you might find it takes some skill to set up a node, let alone a whole net. – Evan Aug 01 '14 at 17:17
  • 1
    There are companies doing this. Search for "wireless mesh network". – DoxyLover Aug 01 '14 at 17:22
  • This is an interesting question that I would love to see a more complete answer, however I think the question should be modified slightly. I would like you to drop the "WiFi" aspect of it and change the question to the effect of "what would be the minimal communication infrastructure needed to start a new ISP company?" In other words, if I wanted to connect a few computers directly to "the web" and bypass comcast, verizon, etc. what would I need to do? – kjgregory Aug 01 '14 at 17:28

2 Answers2

3

Actually this has been done already -- they are called Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs). They are generally used in rural area where it is not ecomical to provide wired access. There were 879 Wi-Fi based WISPs in the Czech Republic as of May 2008, making it the country with most Wi-Fi access points in the whole EU.

Compared to the small "rubber ducky" antennas used on Wi-Fi routers inside the home, the antennas used in WISP systems are more like satellite dishes but aimed at a central access point. Mesh networks are used to limit the number of channels shared by the same subscribers. For more information, see this article (page 7).

Technology may include commonplace Wi-Fi wireless mesh networking, or proprietary equipment designed to operate over open 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 4.9, 5.2, 5.4, 5.7, and 5.8 GHz bands or licensed frequencies in the UHF band. When operating over the tightly limited range of the heavily populated 2.4 GHz band, as nearly all 802.11-based WiFi providers do, it is not uncommon to also see access points mounted on light posts and customer buildings.

tcrosley
  • 48,066
  • 5
  • 98
  • 162
0

Ultimately, the answer is yes.

The Internet is a mesh of mostly wired devices, but the IP protocol can and has been used over wireless. There's no fundamental reason why there shouldn't be a wireless mesh extending it, though there will be issues like how to organise the routing, how you'd pay, etc.

Your main issue is whether there's any economic reason to do so. If you look at phone networks, there's a lot of African countries where they've skipped having landlines and gone straight to mobile.

Carlos
  • 157
  • 4
  • Even if it could be done, it would never happen. Power users and people who want the most from their technology prefer wired over wireless. For example, there is no real reason a desktop would be connected wirelessly rather than wired. The backbone of all networks is wired, not wireless, and it will continue to stay that way – InterLinked Jul 05 '16 at 14:52