Has anyone ever looked into repurposing wifi devices like phones as mesh routers? Or open cell networks? They would have to always be plugged in but seems like a good start to an open infrastructure
My biggest hurdle reusing old phones and tablets is the battery failing over time wile living on the charger. We need a project or company that makes dummy batteries that just report 100% full all the time.
On rooted android you can use Advanced Charging Controller (ACC) [0] to control at what levels to charge. I use it to exchange normal capacity for longevity.