I am bullish on local lightning networks and not relying on telcos all the time, especially in countries where the ability to get reliable internet isn't always easy or cheap :)

Even in South Africa which is seen as the more developed of the African nations, we have constant blackouts, and signal from telcos isn't reliable if you move out of the major cities

I think projects like mini-grid mining, eCash mints and LNmesh could really help bootstrap economies in places banking, internet and power isn't easy to find