This is how many of the local wireless networks here in Czech Republic started - someone who could have connectivity got together with others, put up an omni-di

This is how many of the local wireless networks here in Czech Republic started - someone who could have connectivity got together with others, put up an omni-directional antenna on the roof and had others connect to it, then split the cost of the connection. This often made it possible to share much more expensive connections than any one of the participants would otherwise would be able to afford. This often started with off the shelf wireless APs (like the venerable D-Link DWL-900AP+ with often home made antennas connected. If the network had more knowledgeable Unix people, they might have used an old PC running Linux or BSD with hostapd and an PCI wireless card. The most advanced ones even had home-built optical links (Seriously, 10 Mbit/s full duplex on 2001 by light was super cool! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RONJA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RONJA) though our network was not that hardcore. :P We did lay some cable via agricultural pipe and build a makeshift com tower next to a Vineyard. :) Over time the networks got high larger via bridging and wired or even fiber segments and a lot of the hardware was often replaced by high performance Microtik and Ubiquity devices. Also the networks often merged into bigger ones, covering whole cities and their surrounding villages, with APs on top of grain silos and water towers. Some of the networks are still independent and quite big, some were bought by big "traditional" telecom companies and some still operate as user coops to this day.