It seems to me that it would eventually be possible, to build a relatively cheap system that can both soak up power and transmit/recieve data without any extern

It seems to me that it would eventually be possible, to build a relatively cheap system that can both soak up power and transmit/recieve data without any external wiring. You could hook up a raspberry pi to a solar system, weatherproof it, then deploy it in the wild. Add a wireless "router" of some sort, and then you have a mobile broadcasting station. Imagine a world where such systems are very cheap to build. Also -- imagine that they could be "networked" if they are in range. Finally, imagine hobbyists building out that network for fun. Maybe in neighborhoods, public parks, etc. Imagine the technology greatly improves and gets even cheaper. These are plastered everywhere, by everyone. They can transmit and receive data very quickly, over reasonably far distances. Maybe it becomes an off-grid anarchist internet. :)