MeshDapp

BASIC INFORMATION

Short name: MeshDapp
Long name: MeshDapp: Blockchain-enabled Payment System for Wireless Mesh Networks

Company: Max van der Stoel Institute, South East European University
Country: North Macedonia

Call Stage 1: F4Fp-SME-COD201117  (see call details)
Proposal number: F4Fp-SME-COD201117 -02

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Call Stage 2: F4Fp-09-M (see call details)
Proposal number: F4Fp-09-M16

SUMMARY REMARKS & TESTBEDS

The deployment of crowdsourced networking infrastructures (e.g., mesh networks) creates an opportunity for local development, where anyone can deploy a new device. In such infrastructures, connectivity offer can expand incrementally and be sustainable through investment and fees resulting from the demand and consumption of content and services, including Internet access, that compensate for the cost of the underlying network. Providers of infrastructure want to get compensation for their investments and earn tokens; users or consumers want the network to expand for improving the coverage of connectivity and stability. How do we collect funds from consumers and distribute them to providers, guaranteeing satisfaction of every participant?

We explore the technological feasibility of the MeshDapp platform within the CityLab and IRIS testbed by evaluating business and sustainability models for wireless mesh networks that combine retail pricing with wholesale cost, profit distribution and return of investment. A technical enabler is a permissioned blockchain (Ethereum PoA) platform that provides desirable properties such as trusted data feeds (oracles) about traffic and resource consumption, robust and irreversible transaction records (distributed ledger), and inexorable outcomes (smart contracts).

Our proof-of-concept implementation of the aforementioned architecture is focused on the use case of Internet access management among other network services which the platform is aimed to support. Results of the experiments will test the operation of MeshDapp in a real-world mesh network where SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) operators can benefit from a local token economy for sustainable local infrastructure provision. The success of the experiment will open the opportunity to expand beyond network services, including identity, anonymity, authorization, and traceability in the design.

MATERIALS