Although it demonstrably offers various ways to transform the internet into something more open, secure, and user-centric, blockchain still faces obstacles when it comes to onboarding users and bringing Web3 into the mainstream.
Despite the proliferation of L1 chains, L2 solutions, DeFi protocols, and various other developer-oriented innovations, we have yet to see a Web3 application go mainstream in a lasting way.
This is all about to change thanks to a revolutionary new WiFi protocol that combines Web3 user credentials and data management with OpenRoaming network technology. By eliminating WiFi login screens, unifying users’ online identities, and creating accessible new mining opportunities, this framework provides a use-case and underlying protocol that will deliver Web3 to the masses.
MetaBlox’s core WiFi and Web3 technologies include:
- Decentralized Identity (DID) based authentication
- Blockchain based data verification and storage
- WiFi OpenRoaming
- 5G
- WiFi 6/6E
DID: Web3’s Universal Credential
The DID, or decentralized identity, constitutes the main identity credential used by MetaBlox WiFi. Web3’s dedicated credential format, DIDs are immutable code strings that, with the help of verifiers and blockchains implementing DID protocol, can digitally prove a subject’s identity and any given trait about them, without requiring inspection by a human.
More specifically, the credentials, which are also stored on blockchains, rely on private/public key infrastructure as well as an on-chain data registry for deployment and verification. When a user authenticates their DID, blockchain nodes collectively verify the info it holds, distributing trust across the (blockchain) network so that data is resilient against attacks, exposure, and exploitation.
As a result, DIDs also remain under the sole custody and control of their holders, staying out of central databases/servers managed by third parties. In other words, platforms using DID based authentication to verify users cannot sell or collect the data held on these credentials.
Ultimate Interoperability
DIDs are also blockchain agnostic, and, as a result, totally interoperable across different networks and the applications built on them. Consequently, a DID can be used as your one unified ‘account login’ for any Web3 platform, while it can also function as a digital version of any given physical ID.
This vast interoperability lets users forget the days when they needed different credentials for every internet and real-world membership/account they held. Instead, a DID can be used to connect to any and all files, accounts, dApps, social media platforms, networks, login gateways, etc.
Secure and Privacy Protected
Its simple yet sophisticated format and verification mechanism lets users choose how much data their DID reveals to the blockchain, depending on the context. For instance, the credential can be deployed to prove the user’s age when they need it to, or, at other times, to prove some special skill or certification such as a driver’s license or the possession of a university degree. On the other hand, DIDs can virtually anonymize the way users present themselves to a given platform, depending on its requirements.
Telecom’s Latest Standards
As a decentralized WiFi and identity management protocol, MetaBlox uses DIDs alongside the latest telecommunications standards which, combined with DID, deliver a more secure and seamless wireless networking experience than anything Web2 offers.
We’ll briefly discuss these standards below.
OpenRoaming
This protocol integrates local WiFi networks under a framework that allows users to access all such networks without manually entering login info at a single one. With OpenRoaming enabling automatic, backend authentication in this way, it allows for seamless, continuous connectivity across networks worldwide, regardless of the provider, location, or host entity.
OpenRoaming, moreover, implements Enterprise WiFi, which requires networks to maintain enterprise level security (usually used by large corporations)– a much higher standard than what is currently offered by most open, publicly available networks.
5G+WiFi 6/6E
5G is a wireless networking protocol that defines the latest performance standards for both WiFi and cellular networks. Compared to previous generations of network standards, a 5G connection lets users enjoy much faster data speeds, lower latency, and better reliability than any previous generation protocol provided, as well as far increased capacity.
Designed to optimize WiFi performance specifically, WiFi 6 and 6E represent the latest generations of such technology. They bring similar improvements to 5G, including much increased data speeds and efficiency.
MetaBlox’s implementation of 5G and WiFi 6 compatibility throughout its OpenRoaming networks makes for lightning fast web surfing and streaming experiences as well as quick installation times for applications and media. Moreover, 5G connectivity ensures smooth VR and AR experiences while giving developers the speeds needed to build the metaverse.
MetaBlox implements the telecom technologies described above via DID authentication, meaning that MetaBlox OpenRoaming WiFi users connect by deploying their DID for authentication (although no manual input is required). This decentralized WiFi model, as we’ll see, presents a use case with the simplicity and utility needed to onboard millions to Web3.
A Miner-Built Global WiFi Network
The first Web3 WiFi provider, MetaBlox allows for continuous connectivity across interlinked networks worldwide via OpenRoaming and DID. And thanks to its implementation of on-chain user authentication, it creates mining opportunities for network hosts:
Any router that, via MetaBlox protocol, verifies DIDs to establish WiFi connections, generates mPoints that will become convertible to ROAM tokens after the project’s token listing in 2024.
To earn mPoints, owners of existing routers with internet connections can, via MetaBlox app, set up their network to implement MetaBlox protocol.
Find instructions on adding your network to MetaBlox here.
Alternatively, and for up to triple the rewards, you can deploy a proprietary MetaBlox miner, which, using any internet connection, provides an OpenRoaming network for mining, as well as two private ones.
Thousands of MetaBlox miners and existing networks have already been integrated under decentralized OpenRoaming; though this federation is itself part of a larger OpenRoaming federation of over 3 million hotspots. To access all these hotspots automatically, simply download the MetaBlox app and create your DID.
User-Mining
MetaBlox users can also claim mPoints: when a device is connected to a MetaBlox network, the user can open the MetaBlox app and push the ‘check-in’ button for an instant mPoint payout.
This check-in action, though quick and easy, helps validate the given network by verifying that it meets MetaBlox’s performance and security standards. Finding a check-in location is also easy to do using the app’s interactive map viewer:
Data Protection, Analytics Upshots
While staying out of the possession of centralized entities, DIDs can also anonymize users’ on-chain presence so that viewers cannot trace them back to the users’ wallet address.
At the same time, MetaBlox miners, while verifying DIDs, also record valuable, anonymized WiFi usage data on-chain. This includes data like the time and place of the connections, where they are made, when, and by whom (e.g what DID). This privacy-protected information, known as ‘3W’ data, enables the creation of new applications that require such data, as well as new data marketplace opportunities.
Bringing Web3 Mainstream
The WiFi and mining features described above constitute an ideal Web3 onboarding mechanism.
Users enjoy free, seamless, and secure connectivity around the world as well as rewards for connecting.
At the same time, businesses hosting MetaBlox networks get marketing opportunities such as a public profile on MetaBlox app, 3W data, and mPoint incentives to draw in visitors.
With blockchain powering these transformative solutions, MetaBlox provides the strongest reasons and easiest ways yet to access Web3.
Conclusion
Instead of foisting Web3 onto the masses with confusing, developer-oriented interfaces and technical demands, MetaBlox offers compelling, blockchain-based solutions to existing problems such as the lack of public WiFi. And while letting Web3 work behind the scenes to transform the WiFi experience for the better, it also enables the creation of new, user-friendly applications that implement DID.
By combining the latest Web3 and telecom technologies, MetaBlox has given blockchain a use that will beckon to the masses.
Explore the latest MetaBlox news and products on the project’s website and communities channels!
