Wifi for pic32

Hey guys,
Rather than using cc3000, or similar products, what alternative is there for integrating internet connectivity into you embedded application?
I know Microchip has a tcp/ip stack in their application library, can I simply use this in conjunction with a 2.4Ghz receiver to connect? what does a module like the cc3000 actually do?
Thanks for any clarification.

Regards
Matt

You could use a WiFly I'm evaluating an RN-VX module at present. Briefly this is a Zigbee form-factor board that has a serial I/O interface and a 2.4GHz wifi block built in. You send it ASCII commands to do things like scan for networks, connect to a given SSID and send data.
In its simplest form it connects to a wifi network and then you open a port on the device and send/receive text and commands.