Wayru: Decentralizing internet access with blockchain
In 2011 the United Nations issued a report declares the Internet a human right, but over a decade later, millions of people in developing countries still lack the necessary means for a simple WiFi connection, many of whom reside in Latin America. This is due to industry control by a few large Internet Service Providers (ISPs), with a preference for upselling to their established customer base, rather than expanding into untapped regions where millions of people are in dire need of connectivity.
A question of human rights
These companies fail to prioritize adequate connection quality and network coverage to developing countries, an approach that has led to 37% of the world’s population currently living without internet. This gap in the market has attracted the attention of a new web3 telecommunications innovator by name Wayruwhich is at the forefront of technological advances that can provide a decentralized solution to a centralized problem.
What was born as an idea to help people in less developed countries connect could end up being one of the smartest business ideas in 2022. The market size of the Global Internet Service Providers industry recently crossed an eye-watering figure of USD 1 trillion, demand will only increase.
The Wayru Mission: Decentralizing the Internet
Wayru is a startup that believes people’s internet infrastructure should be in their own hands. The Florida-based company is a strong advocate of the internet as a human right and strives to make this a reality with a ground-breaking new decentralized network of Hotspots and Genesis hardware devices, which will not only bring internet to millions in underdeveloped regions, but also reward those who chose to support the network.
Wayru’s mission is to decentralize Internet access for a global market, and it aims to achieve this by expanding its decentralized network of Hotspots and stimulating the use of Genesis hardware devices on a global scale. Wayru’s goal is to achieve 1,000 fixed broadband clients and 10,000 WiFi users by the end of 2022, but has much higher long-term goals.
Wayru founder and CEO Charvel Chedraui stated that:
“Only a few large telecommunications companies manage most of the sector worldwide. It is time to give the power of connectivity and access to information back to the people. We believe that the ownership of Internet infrastructure should be in the hands of as many people as possible .”
Has already received support from industry leaders Boundless and Algorand, Wayru has now developed a unique sharing economy model that has the potential to disrupt the telecommunications industry in underdeveloped nations and beyond. However, creating a viable internet infrastructure is only half the battle. For Wayru to complete, or even surpass its centralized counterparts, it needs to offer advancements from both a technological and financial standpoint.
For this reason, the Wayru network has been designed to reduce both the time and cost of their broadband deployments, while increasing the internet speeds of their WiFi On-the-Go service to meet the needs of homes and businesses. The lower cost model looks even more attractive as it avoids the trap of expensive, lengthy contracts and setup costs familiar to most global broadband users. And the cherry on top, the first month will be free for early adopters.
LatAm will be an early benefactor
Wayru has carefully selected Latin America to launch its network. Less than half of households there have internet access due to expensive services, poor coverage and unattractive, long-term contracts. Only 56.1% of urban areas have internet access and it is much worse in rural areas with only a paltry 21.6% connected.
The first two cities to reap the benefits of the Hotspot network are Quito and Guayaquil, the two largest and most populated in Ecuador. In these two cities, the effects of Wayru Hotspots have the highest potential to cause a significant positive effect on people’s quality of life. This launch is just the first step in Wayru’s mission, as the company plans an aggressive expansion on the back of the first wave of adoption.
Wayru founder and CEO Charvel Chedraui stated that:
“We want to deploy the first Internet nodes in Latin America. We want to set a standard for how this niche technology works and how others can join our network later.”
Blockchain is leading the revolution
Beneath the surface of the revolution is the lifeblood of the Wayru Hotspots project. Wayru will deploy at least 1,000 Hotspots using cutting-edge fiber-grade mesh technologies to form a hybrid network across the cities of Quito and Guayaquil.
Wayru has leveraged Algorand’s blockchain technology to tokenize Hotspots in groups of 1,000 or more, called Hotspot pools. Anyone who wants to support the network can support the Hotspot Pools by purchasing “Pool Tokens”.
Once Pool tokens are purchased, that person is automatically set and will start receiving WRU as soon as that pool is active. The number of tokens in the pool depends on the location and number of hotspots. More growth in an area’s network will result in more token pools available for purchase.
Genesis hardware devices is the second act of the Wayru revolution and has great potential for mass adoption. Each device is a universal WiFi hub that can be purchased directly from Wayru and used by individuals, businesses and communities to share an internet connection and become part of a larger network.
Get back what you put in
Wayru believes that what you give comes back to you. That is why the participants’ income comes from what is generated by the users. All who sets up a node sharing an existing connection or securing the network venture, will be rewarded in $WRU for their participation, helping to strengthen internet access as a human right.
Wayru’s unique user-led decentralized model approach will not only facilitate an increased pace of cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption in commerce, but will pave the way for much more innovation in the future, sparking an industry-wide embrace of new technologies.
To learn more about how Wayru is leading the mission to create a more connected world, visit their main page here.
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and should not be treated as news/advice.
