In this cycle, the value of #DePIN has once again been seen by the market. As one of the more representative application directions of DePIN, WiFi infrastructure has grown rapidly in recent years.

Using the economic incentives of blockchain to build a decentralized WiFi roaming network, private and public #WiFi nodes are shared to the WiFi network, thereby reducing dependence on centralized infrastructure, reducing maintenance and operating costs, and simplifying the network expansion and management process through automated and intelligent network management. It not only provides more profit opportunities for node owners, but also provides users with more convenient and cheaper network services.

In the decentralized WiFi track, Roam@weRoamxyz has achieved impressive recent data. According to its official website browser, the number of miners connected to the platform has reached more than 400,000, and the number of users has reached more than 520,000, and is still growing.

From the DePINscan website, we can see that Roam ranks fourth in terms of the number of nodes, which is comparable to Helium.

Roam is backed by MetaBlox Labs, which aims to create a seamless global WiFi roaming network — OpenRoaming™ WiFi Networks — using blockchain technology and decentralized identity.

Traditional WiFi networks are usually isolated, and each hotspot has its own login system and access control. This causes users to frequently reconnect and authenticate when moving between different locations, which is cumbersome. Roam's decentralized WiFi network solves this problem through a unified authentication system that allows users to roam seamlessly using their own DIDs and VCs.

Project Highlights

1. Decentralized identity verification (DIDs, VCs)

Everyone may have had this experience: when you are out and about and connect to public WiFi (such as at an airport), you are often asked to log in to a webpage and enter your mobile phone number, user name, etc., which will more or less expose your identity information. Web3 solutions should pay more attention to privacy protection, so Roam introduces decentralized identity authentication mechanisms, including DIDs and VCs. DIDs (decentralized identity identifiers) are relatively easy to understand. They are the user's decentralized identity identification, which is completely controlled by the user and does not rely on any centralized organization. VCs (verifiable credentials) refer to the user's digital credentials, which are used to prove the identity of the holder to the router in order to access certain specific services. Users can selectively display certain attribute information to protect their privacy.

Registration phase: Users can use the App to generate their own DID, which corresponds to VC. When a user requests to connect to the Roam network, if there is no existing VC, they can choose to accept the VC signed by Roam. This VC contains the user's identity information and can be verified on the decentralized ledger.

Login and verification phase: When users need to prove their identity, they can generate a one-time VP. During the VP generation and verification process, a zero-knowledge proof algorithm can be used to ensure that the user's identity is verified without leaking user privacy. When logging in, the user device interacts with the Roam access point (AP) and communicates through the WPA2/3-EAP authentication mechanism. The user device provides the DID and VP to the AP, and the AP sends this information to the Roam's RADIUS server. The RADIUS server verifies the status and validity of the VC through the smart contract on the blockchain based on the information in the user's DID and VP. If the VC verification is successful, the RADIUS server will allow the user device to connect to the network and start encrypted data communication.

After initial use, the user's VP, VC, and DID will be stored on the blockchain. Whenever the user enters the range of the router again using the Roam protocol, the user's VP will be deployed again to reconnect to WiFi. When the user device enters the range of the Roam node (router), the router's DID verification process for the connected user is automatically executed by the smart contract.

2. Use multiple telecommunications industry standards to provide enterprise-grade WiFi

To ensure maximum compatibility and security, Roam uses a variety of cutting-edge telecommunications industry standards and web3 standards:

IEEE 802.11u — The part of WiFi technology that defines how to connect to WiFi hotspots (like the free WiFi at a coffee shop or airport). Roam leverages this standard to make it easier for users to connect to different WiFi networks.

EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) — This protocol is used to authenticate the identity of the user in the WiFi network. There are several EAP methods used in Roam, such as EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, and EAP-PEAP, which provide different levels of security and convenience.

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) — The RADIUS protocol is primarily used to manage network access rights. In Roam, RADIUS is used to handle user login and authentication, ensuring that only authorized users can access the network.

Hotspot 2.0 — a project of the WiFi Alliance to improve the user experience on public WiFi hotspots. Roam follows this standard to enable users to automatically discover and connect to OpenRoaming™ networks.

Trust over IP (ToIP) — A technology and protocol stack launched by the Linux Foundation that aims to build a decentralized, trusted network environment. Roam follows the ToIP framework to ensure the security of network services and the protection of user privacy.

5G Standard — Integrates the latest mobile communication standards to provide a seamless switching experience between WiFi networks and cellular networks.

OpenRoaming™ — OpenRoaming allows users to roam freely between different WiFi networks without having to log in again each time. By integrating this standard, Roam simplifies the process of using WiFi in different locations.

It is worth mentioning that MetaBlox (Roam's parent company) is one of the 9 OpenRoaming ID providers in the world and the only Web3 project among them. Roam has lower costs and better user experience than regular OpenRoaming™ services through decentralization. Roam complies with all WiFi OpenRoaming network security standards set by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), including:

WRIX: Provides a coordinated OpenRoaming framework that allows different WiFi providers to bring their networks together into an OpenRoaming™ alliance. This allows users to roam seamlessly between different access points (routers).

Cyber ​​Security: The WBA requires its OpenRoaming members to ensure the security of their WiFi connections, including encrypted communications between user devices and Roam routers, and other measures to prevent hacking and data breaches.

WiFi CERTIFIED Passpoint: This is a certification standard of the WiFi Alliance that specifies the basic characteristics of the WiFi connection process so that providers can integrate their networks through the OpenRoaming™ mechanism. Passpoint allows devices to automatically switch between different WiFi networks.

The combination of these technologies and standards helps Roam create its decentralized, secure, and user-friendly enterprise-grade WiFi experience.

3. Design of economic model

There are three types of roles in the Roam network: WiFi miners, validators, and their builders. Roam miners are holders of Roam Rainier MAX60 mining routers, acting as blockchain nodes. When a Roam user enters the range of a miner, the miner and other nodes will automatically verify the DID and establish a WiFi connection. The mining algorithm of the Roam network is Proof-of-Service. The algorithm verifies the commitment of honest miners to continuously provide the required network services, and successful miners will be rewarded with point tokens. The validator uses his own equipment to check whether the miner's equipment is online, confirm the quality of service provided by the miner, and report the conclusion to the network.

Roam adopts a three-token model that is not strictly speaking, including: NFT, $ROAM, and Roam Points.

NFT is bound to a specific mining machine, and each NFT purchased supports the deployment of a Roam router. Specifically, NFT has the following uses:

Cloud Mining: Each Genesis NFT represents the right to earn revenue from a router. Routers pegged to NFTs are maintained and supported by Roam, so NFT holders do not incur any operating costs associated with mining. After making an initial investment in NFTs, users will receive Roam Points as a reward.

NFT Staking: Genesis NFTs can also be staked to earn $Roam tokens, which can be withdrawn at any time.

OG Community Member Pass: Genesis NFT is also proof of OG membership in the Roam community, which comes with a range of identity privileges, such as VIP status at special events hosted by Roam and its partners, special airdrops from GameFi partners, increased mining income from DeFi partners, stronger voting rights in community governance, etc.

$ROAM is a governance token used to reflect the market value of the project. It has a hard cap and a maximum supply of 1 billion. During the TGE, 400 million will be generated, of which 280 million will be used to invest in the team, 120 million will be reserved for the team, and the remaining 600 million will be used as growth tokens, generated through mining or staking. Roam Points, as an off-chain equity token, is used for daily operations and rewards. It has no hard cap and can be exchanged for $ROAM. Roam Points circulate within the ecosystem and are used to purchase other application services within the ecosystem, access data, or publish advertisements. They are burned in certain specific circumstances, such as burning to generate $ROAM or exchanging for other digital assets.

The distinction between $ROAM and Roam Points helps reduce the impact of market fluctuations on daily operations.

In terms of pricing, Roam's WiFi service is currently free for ordinary users, which is very attractive to ordinary users with WiFi needs. The free strategy is also conducive to the project's self-propagation and attracts traffic to Web3.

Roam has built a growth flywheel for the system through economic incentives and community building: in the startup phase, token incentives are used to encourage WiFi miners and validators to participate in network construction and increase network coverage, and by continuously optimizing its technology, such as integrating the latest WiFi technology, improving security, and reducing costs, it attracts more users. The increase in users can bring income to Roam, increase the value of the network, and further increase the incentives for miners. This process will also attract more users to web3, strengthen the construction of the web3 community, and enable Roam to have more excellent builders, driving the entire network forward.

Team and Funding

Roam has announced a total financing of US$7 million, with investors including: Collaboration+Currency (seed round lead), Synergis Capital (seed round lead), Anagram (Strategy Theory lead), Volt Capital (Strategy Theory lead), Comma3 Ventures, IoTeX, Awesome People Ventures, Crowdcreate, Future Life, Slope, Stratified Capital, JDI Global, ZC Capital, Future3 Campus, ECMC Group, SNZ Holding, DePIN Labs, etc. There is also an undisclosed amount of investment from Samsung Next this year.

Jeffrey Manner, one of the co-founders of Roam, holds a Master of Economics from Copenhagen Business School and a Bachelor of Business from Victoria University. He is a general partner of Weave VC, an early-stage venture capital fund focusing on technology companies. Previously, he helped establish the Red Thread Ventures angel investment group. His investment background mainly revolves around web3 startups.

Community Building

ROAM attaches great importance to community building and actively organizes various types of community activities. Last month, the airdrop reward event held in conjunction with OKX Wallet attracted more than 100,000 users to participate. Currently, users can also participate in online tasks on Zealy to win event rewards. Roam officials will launch Twitter Spaces around hot topics and various project parties at different stages to provide community members with opportunities for in-depth communication. This month, Roam also launched the "Roam Founder Hour" event, where community members can participate in AMA in Discord and talk directly with the founders.

Conclusion

Roam combines the latest technical solutions in the industry to provide an enterprise-level WiFi experience, and uses economic incentives to effectively promote network and user growth. Judging from the current data, it has successfully taken the first step. According to Metcalfe's law, the value of the network is proportional to the square of the number of users. Especially for decentralized WiFi networks, the scale advantage is its biggest moat. In the future, Roam will also explore more application scenarios around WiFi network services, such as providing geographic data for SocialFi or GameFi applications, user traffic, and AI+DePIN infrastructure services. We can continue to pay attention to the future growth of this project.

To learn more, you can follow Roam’s social media links:

Official website: https://Roam.io/

Official Twitter: https://x.com/weRoamxyz

Discord：https://discord.com/invite/roam