No more wireless routers?

A team of academics has developed software that may let organizations dump their wireless routers in favor of a mesh network made of the laptop computers that they already have and open-source software from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The new software implements a mesh technology in laptop computers spread more than 900 feet apart outdoors to allow roving computers to access the Internet without the need for either a network of access points or a 3G WAN connection. Developers hope to eventually extend the Wi-Peer software to include cell networks for a truly wide-ranging solution.

For more on the mobile mesh software:
- read the news story at Network World