Data network having a wireless local area network with a packet hopping wireless backbone

A data communications network comprising:

• a packet hopping gateway (PHG) including a network interface for establishing communication with a server via a wide area network backbone and a transceiver for wirelessly receiving data packets originating from a client device and addressed to the server and wirelessly transmitting data packets originating from the server and addressed to the client device in accordance with a packet hopping protocol, and the PHG operatively arranged to dynamically configure a virtual private network between a firewall and the client device as the client device initiates communication with the data communications network, the firewall disposed between the wide area network backbone and the server;
• and
• at least one packet hopping access terminal (PHAST), the at least one PHAST including at least one transceiver operative arranged to act as an intermediate transmission node for the data packets sent from the client device to the server and the data packets sent from the server to the client device, and the at least one PHAST operatively arranged to route/repeat the data packets sent from the client device to the server and the data packets sent from the server to the client device in accordance with the packet hopping protocol.