I have a question, do mesh networks have a viable future?

I was doing some research to help some budies of mine dealing with internet shutdowns in india, and I stumbled across mesh networks. That provided an excellent jumping point that helped us find some resources to help protesters maintain communication during internet shutdowns. However, I noticed a number of cities had some local projects by college kids such as sudo mesh to start building mesh networks. I'm not a networking guy, my understanding of computer science while above average is definitely not college or university level. However, I would like to know more about it. Which brings me to my question, are mesh networks potentially a viable alternative to the current internet infrastructure in the near future? What are some obstacles they'll have to overcome? Should we expect more mesh technology to become more popular and wildly used?