Can an iPhone's Personal Hotspot feature connect to a Wi-Fi network?

Personal Hotspot was introduced many years ago as a way to turn your iPhone (and later iPad) into a conduit between a cellular data connection and one or more computers or other devices. Macworld reader Gabriel was hoping to use Personal Hotspot after his MacBook Air’s internal Wi-Fi system apparently conked out.Gabriel is in ultima Thule, far from cellular networks, but has access to a Wi-Fi network. He tried to use Personal Hotspot to tether his Mac via Bluetooth and USB to the local Wi