A commercial vehicle comprises a plurality of wireless nodes fixed to points on the surface of the vehicle and configured to cooperate to form a vehicle network, wherein lines of sights between adjacent ones of the wireless nodes are sensibly unobstructed and/or sensibly parallel to the surface of the vehicle. The vehicle network may include additional wired links. A backhaul port provides Internet connectivity, at least intermittently, to the vehicle network. At least one of the wireless nodes is operable to act as wireless access point for mobile stations in the vehicle's vicinity and is optionally assisted by a wireless communication host.