As far as I know, those "edge of space" low cost weather balloon experiments are a long way from putting something in orbit. The cost to put something in orbit

As far as I know, those "edge of space" low cost weather balloon experiments are a long way from putting something in orbit. The cost to put something in orbit is in the 1000s per pound range right (http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=301 http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=301)? I remember hearing something about ranchers putting up satellites in the early naughts, but I don't know how feasible that is. Seems like a better solution would be strengthening the protocols, figuring out mesh networking solutions, rather that chucking cisco routers into space.