“A backbone in a mesh network is built via directional antennas. While regular internet routers only have a signal range of about 50 m, this signal can be extended up to 80 km with an antenna which beams the signal across a distance. The easiest way to build the backbone of a mesh network is via off-the-shelf hardware. For this, Alice sets up a directional antenna on the top of a high building, and tells Bob, to whom she wants to beam her signal, to do the same. But as we’ve learned, off-the-shelf hardware is not always an option. In this case, with a little know-how, directional antennas can also be built with regular cans — such as tomato cans. The can is then connected to a mesh networking router via an antenna cable, and “ta-da”, we have built ourselves a functioning directional cantenna.””

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