Decentralizing the Internet

One of the most remarkable and innovative developments in modern history was the invention of the internet. Allowing users to communicate at great speeds regardless of distance, the world has never been smaller than it is now. This gives us all the ability to see first-hand different cultures and ideas from all around the world. On top of the internet, blockchain is the latest significant innovation allowing said users to keep an immutable decentralized ledger of transactions without the need for a centralized and corruptible mediating party such as the banking system. Although it's still in it's infancy, blockchain technology is making huge strides forward.

One of the basic building blocks of blockchain is the decentralized component. This is arguably the most important function, but even perfectly implemented in the blockchain technology it is still susceptible to centralization in other areas. One area that has been discussed previously is the potential for centralization in mining. Many debates have been had about if allowing ASIC miners to be used creates centralization, check out this article from Jimmy Song for a more in depth look at this. That being said, there is one area of centralization that has not been talked about as much, and that's centralization of access to the internet in general. As end users, we tend to be restricted to our own networks which are connected through an ISP. In some cases, users may have very few or even no options when it comes to picking an ISP, which creates a single point of failure in our ability to use blockchain effectively. The entire blockchain wouldn't go down from ISP issues, but a users access to it very well could, and this is a huge problem for further adoption.

Source: Pixabay

For all the accessible content the internet offers, including all the amazing blockchain projects out there, there really aren't enough ISP's (Internet Service Provider). Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of them, but when the market is the entire globe we fall a little short. There's also a lot of "different" ISP's that are either technically owned under the same umbrella or at least appear may collaborate. We can see that in places where more options for internet exist, the pricing gets driven down further. However, there are many places where that competition simply doesn't exist. This is where people have built up some excitement around the prospect of Mesh networks.

Mesh networks allow users with internet access to utilize their WiFi capabilities on their devices to transmit said internet to other WiFi devices within range. Have you ever used a "hotspot" on your phone to watch a movie on another device that was not internet connected? The concept is similar, in that case you're using your cell phone data plan to enable internet on another device, but said connection is not really adequate for providing trustless internet access to others. It lacks the security and incentive required to be used a method of building out a Mesh network. In order for this to happen, the way the device configures it's WiFi connection would have to be more advanced to keep your device safe for random people to connect. It would also need a method of collecting some form of payment for providing such a connection to end users. One organization has identified these issues and has a solution!

BandZ - Decentralizing the Internet!

BandZ utilizes enterprise level secure VPN connections in order to allow devices to form Mesh networks that can provide external devices a connection to the internet. Once the secure connection is made, those who connect to the network will pay for the internet service using the integrated BandZ blockchain token. This will incentivize those with fast and reliable internet connections to earn some tokens while providing a valuable service to those who are not within their ISP's reach (or simply don't have one). The implications of such a network are quite broad. On the consumer end, such a technology could provide internet service to those who are travelling, especially internationally where they may require a different SIM card in order to get phone data to work. The ability to grab WiFi from a Mesh network device via BandZ would offer significantly cheaper use of internet when you are roaming outside of your typical network range.

Check out this video from the team

Won't ISP's fight against such a system?

If you're like me, when hearing about this technology you might be wondering if ISP's would view this as a threat and fight back against it. After all, we're talking about allowing users to effectively extend the reach of their connection for personal gain. However, after reading the whitepaper I was surprised to learn that there are some significant benefits to the ISP that will encourage cooperation. For one, these ISP's can't reach all parts of the globe and currently have no framework in which they can offer a more global experience for data users. BandZ is configured in a way where it can be integrated in with ISP plans as an add-on feature that will integrate with other ISP connections around the world. In other words, it gives ISP's an opportunity to expand their infrastructure with little to no additional investment to their business.

One of the more restrictive parts of an ISP service is the funding required to simply cover operating costs, such a system would allow their reach to expand without additional infrastructure being built, keeping their operating costs down. It's also important to note that when a user is selling bandwidth, someone is buying said bandwidth with tokens that have to originate somewhere. This is an opportunity for ISP's to provide BandZ tokens as part of their package either as a monthly distribution or simply on-demand and charged through the users contract with the ISP.

Source: Whitepaper

How Will BandZ Succeed?

It's probably not shocking to anybody to learn that the market for internet and internet related services is ever-expanding. Here's an excerpt from the BandZ whitepaper:

The global VPN market is worth over $1 Billon USD today. This figure is expected to rise to over
106 Billion by 2022 via a cumulative annual growth rate of 13%
Source Cited in Whitepaper

With the increased demand for internet related services, it's difficult for ISP's to keep up. The BandZ whitepaper estimates that ISP's have been growing by 8.8% on average from 2012 to 2017. This is due to the expansive demand for bandwidth. In addition, many parts of the world have little to no access to the internet, but the demand in those areas is growing. For reference, look at the below chart. The areas with yellow through brown coloring are areas where a lot of internet expansion has yet to occur.

Source: Whitepaper

To make growth into these areas as easy as possible, BandZ includes a SDK (Software Development Kit) making it easy for ISP's to integrate into their current infrastructure. When you compare the structure of BandZ with competitors in the market, you begin to see some reasons why the competitors have not succeeded yet. For example, some competitors would require an installation service at each deployment site. Others do not have any sort of MVP created yet, or have limited the scope to only bandwidth without additional features and security.

By addressing these issues, BandZ stands to be the first blockchain company in the mesh networking/VPN space to get real adoption. To keep track of this project, check out their website for more information. They have many ways to keep track of their progress, just scroll to the bottom and you'll see all your favorite social networks. For the most immediate updates and the ability to most quickly interact with the team, I recommend joining their Telegram channel. For investors, keep an eye out for the private token sale starting on June 22nd.

This is a submission to an @originalworks writing contest. View the contest here.

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