Karrier One uses blockchain technology to deliver better mobile, internet connections in rural Canada | VanillaPlus
Toronto, Canada – Karrier One Inc., a DeWI 5G blockchain network, has announced the closing of its first round of financing and satellite connection to 10 terrestrial 4G nodes and future-proofed for 5G in rural Canada that enable iPhones to communicate entirely off the grid of incumbent telecom infrastructure.
“This is disruptive technology at its finest and sure to shake up the Canadian and global telecom market. We will soon offer wireless connections to millions worldwide in under-served areas, including Indigenous Canadians,” says Samer Bishay, Karrier One co-founder and CEO. “Just as Uber changed the taxi industry, we aim to do the same with our partners in the telecom industry.”
Adds Bishay: “As every Canadian customer knows, the lack of real competition within Canada’s telecom industry translates into unreasonably high rates, poor or throttled service, lethargic problem resolution as exemplified by Rogers national outage in July 2022, and, quite frankly, often abysmal customer service.”
The Karrier One build-out will be in phases over the next three years. First, we start by deploying infrastructure with key business partners and underserved areas across Canada, including Indigenous communities which own sovereign land rights, but without the ability to monetise the air rights on the spectrum above their lands.
Here’s how the Karrier One blockchain works:
- Select users – also known as mobile independent network operators (MINOs) – become gatekeepers by owning and operating professional radio equipment and nodes called gateways they can order as a kit through the online portal.
- Consumers and businesses pay a fraction of the standard connectivity rates they are otherwise used to, through a “freemium service” pricing model, which includes crypto-tokens. For example, the blockchain is ideal for mining companies in underserved areas compared to traditional telcos.
- The resulting revenue gets divided fairly and transparently among contributing parties (the network, the gatekeepers, the radio spectrum providers).
- Karrier One allows operators to be full or partial tenants of its physical infrastructure, in a fully backward-compatible manner.
- Using blockchain technology and its decentralised platform, outages will be a thing of the past. Karrier One allows operators to maintain true uptime, unlike other traditional telecom infrastructure.
“Blockchain adoption is growing exponentially and provides a viable solution to build a truly decentralised global telecom,” Bishay says. “For example, the Ethereum blockchain has generated [$3.9 billion (€3.58 billion)] in transaction fees in 2022.”
Karrier One will offer individuals, communities and businesses the ability to connect with one another where complete trust is built in, privacy and transparency ensured, and users are empowered owners of their identities.
On a basic level, users – or gate keepers – will be incentivised to create hot spots on their properties with technology equipment and antennas that send out small amounts of data using radio frequencies. The more a hot spot is used by others, the more utility tokens will be sent to the owner of the hot spot.
Users not only receive tokens that reduce wireless bills, but they are notionally network owners.
“Our goal is to decentralise wireless infrastructure and democratise mobile network access by creating a new type of telecommunications layer,” Bishay says. “We’re seeing the need for these networks globally and we want Canada to be at the forefront and the hub for this technology.
“As blockchain expands throughout the telecom world, wireless customers, particularly those in Canada, should experience better services at lower prices as blockchain technology breaks down monopoly barriers and unjustified higher premiums currently made possible in Canada by a lack of competition.”
Karrier One is partnering with competitive local exchange carriers with infrastructure across North America, multiple satellite operators with frequencies issued by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as well as the FCC, and carrier grade hardware vendors.
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