You’re not wrong there. This model doesn’t scale, but there are solutions to this that can help us rebuild that I believe will get people back to a network eventually.

I participate in monthly exercises where we use a repeater system to relay messages in emergencies somewhat like how the telegraph system worked. In this way, we can re-use the limited bandwidth geographically. HF works at the current load but for higher bandwidth needs we can move to regional (say, a 10-meter net of which I know of one regional) or even local repeater systems at higher frequencies and find that much more usable bandwidth becomes available. Several US states have wide repeater networks fully operational at this moment.

In a total collapse situation we could start with HF and form new communities that can scale in much the same way that people scale to form social groups when shouting in a large room isn’t working anymore. In fact, most areas already have multiple local repeaters and sometimes an emergency net. It can happen if the demand is there in an Internet collapse situation.