In this round of bull market, DePIN is a track that must be participated in. Today we are studying a high-quality project that is not yet widely known, Roam.
It is a decentralized WiFi roaming network, and currently has more nodes worldwide than Helium Mobile.
For modern humans, air, water and the Internet are the three necessities of life. We hope to be able to access the Internet conveniently wherever we go. Cellular networks (such as 4G, 5G) and WiFi have become the two major ways for users to access the Internet on a daily basis. When the cellular network cannot be used due to lack of signal coverage, poor indoor location, crowded people, etc., WiFi becomes the only life-saving medicine.
Roam aims to promote the construction of a decentralized global WiFi roaming network. Other DePIN projects are mainly decentralized platforms that aggregate physical devices, such as decentralized GPU computing power and decentralized broadband. Roam does not simply aggregate WiFi provided by users, but encourages users to build a global WiFi OpenRoaming™ roaming network with the Web3 token incentive mechanism. In the actual use of WiFi, we often encounter such troubles. In different places such as cafes, bookstores or airports, every time we go to a new place, we need to find a username and password, which is very troublesome. In addition, WiFi in public places also has security issues.
The OpenRoaming™ project is an initiative initiated by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) to establish a global WiFi network alliance. Promoters include Cisco, Google, AT&T, Boingo Wireless, Samsung, etc. In the OpenRoaming™ network, WiFi providers will abide by common standards and security protocols. And more importantly, every time a user goes to a place supported by OpenRoaming™, the device can automatically connect to WiFi without any operation. Connecting to Wi-Fi is as convenient as using a 4G/5G cellular network.
Such a good thing, in actual promotion, has made slow progress due to the interests, education costs, hardware costs, etc. As the only Web3 project party among the 11 enterprise alliances of the WBA OpenRoaming™ plan, Roam not only builds a Depin network that integrates OpenRoaming™, but also adopts token incentives to promote the development of the network faster.
The effect is significant. In the past 8 months, Roam's nodes have increased by 400,000, surpassing Helium Mobile and becoming the second largest DeWi network. At the same time, Roam users can also use OpenRoaming™'s more than 3.5 million WiFi nodes. And Roam has huge room for growth. There are 700 million WiFi devices worldwide, and currently less than 0.5% support OpenRoaming™.
Introduction to Roam
Roam aims to build a decentralized global WiFi OpenRoaming™ roaming network. By using decentralized identities (DIDs) and verifiable credentials (VCs), it enables users to seamlessly connect to public WiFi networks. It eliminates the need for users to repeatedly log in and register. Roam uses advanced blockchain technology and economic incentive mechanisms to provide users and network providers with secure, efficient, and convenient connection services.
Key benefits of Roam
Global WiFi roaming: Through Passpoint and OpenRoaming™ technologies, Roam enables automatic roaming of devices between different WiFi networks, providing a seamless and secure connection experience. Users only need to register once to automatically connect to WiFi roaming networks that support OpenRoaming™ around the world.
Decentralized identity authentication: Roam uses DIDs and VCs for secure network authentication to ensure user privacy and data security. Through zero-knowledge proof technology, users can authenticate their identities without revealing their personal information.
Web3's token economic incentives: Roam uses a token incentive mechanism to reward users and network providers to promote network expansion and maintenance. Users earn Roam tokens by adding WiFi hotspots, checking in at nodes, and participating in network activities.
Roam Miner: Roam Miner provides crypto mining capabilities and enterprise-level connection security. Users earn Roam tokens by deploying miners and enjoy stable network connections.
Passpoint and OpenRoaming™
Let’s first introduce the core technologies used by Roam, Passpoint and OpenRoaming technologies.
Passpoint is a WiFi authentication and roaming technology developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2012. It simplifies the process of users connecting to public WiFi networks while improving the security and reliability of the connection. Passpoint allows devices to automatically discover and connect to Wi-Fi networks without user intervention (such as entering a password). Passpoint uses WPA2-Enterprise encryption and EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) to provide a strong security authentication mechanism to ensure the secure transmission of user data.
Another function of Passpoint is to support seamless switching between WiFi networks. Devices can automatically switch between different WiFi networks without re-authentication. So, in simple terms, Passpoint technology can achieve automatic connection without having to enter a password again when devices (such as mobile phones and computers) move to another location.
Then, let's talk about OpenRoaming™, which is initiated by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) to build a global network alliance. OpenRoaming™ provides smooth Wi-Fi access for mobile users by connecting access providers (such as public places, retailers, airports, and large enterprises) and identity providers (such as service provider operators, devices, and cloud providers).
The combination of Passpoint+OpenRoaming™ is equivalent to establishing a WiFi Alliance network composed of certified devices, and all WiFi here follow the same technical standards. Then, users can use this network to automatically authenticate and connect between different WiFi networks. Then, every time the user goes to a place supported by OpenRoaming™, the device will automatically connect to WiFi without any operation. Connecting to Wi-Fi is as convenient as using 4G/5G.
DID and VC
Now that the WiFi network alliance has been established, the next thing to do is to solve identity authentication, privacy, and security. The answer to this problem is DID and VC
Decentralized identity (DID) is a new, verifiable, decentralized identifier used for identity verification. Of course, this identity is broad, referring to any subject, such as individuals, organizations, and devices. Unlike traditional centralized identity systems, DID is controlled by the user themselves: users can generate and manage DIDs by themselves and store them in a distributed network, ensuring the security and immutability of DID data. It avoids the single point of failure and privacy leakage risks that exist in traditional identity systems.
Verifiable Credentials (VC) are standardized identity credential formats stored digitally on computers or mobile devices, similar to real-world documents. For example, if I am Xiaochu, I have a Tuanshuguan membership card, a driver's license, a university diploma, and so on. It enables more efficient and secure identity authentication. VC includes
Metadata: Contains information about the issuer of the credential, validity period, credential ID, etc.
Declaration data: includes attribute information of the credential holder, such as name, age, qualifications, etc., as well as the issuer's certification of this information.
Cryptographic proof: A signature generated using an encryption algorithm ensures the authenticity and integrity of the credential and prevents tampering and forgery.
DID and VC form a decentralized identity credential. In the Roam network, DID and VC are widely used to implement secure authentication and privacy protection for OpenRoaming services. When a user accesses the Roam network, DID and VC are used for authentication. The user's DID and the associated VC are stored in the user's device, which can prove the validity of their identity and credentials without leaking sensitive information.
Token-incentivized Depin Network
Roam has built a DePIN ecosystem that is driven by the Web3 economic system. Based on the DePIN network, enterprises and individual users can join OpenRoaming™ through the Roam protocol according to their own circumstances. The simple way is to download the Roam mobile app to share hotspots. Professional users can purchase Roam's Rainier MAX60 router.
1 In the app
Users can download the Roam App, which supports Android and IOS. The Roam App not only allows users to connect to the OpenRoaming™ WiFi network through the Roam app. For new users, downloading the app can get a one-time welcome reward, and a social reward mechanism such as sharing and invitation is set up to encourage users to spread socially. At the same time, Roam, which has hundreds of thousands of users, will also cooperate with other projects, and users can obtain airdrop rewards from other projects through various activities.
2 Roam Router
Professional users can choose the Roam router: Rainier MAX60, which is priced at $499 on the official website. First of all, this router can be used as a WiFi router in daily life. Rainier MAX60 has Wi-Fi 6 performance and supports data transmission rates up to 9.6Gbps, which is nearly 3 times faster than WiFi 5's 3.5Gbps. And it can support more than 200 devices connected simultaneously in a space of 150 square meters.
It can then be used as a depin device for the Roam network to automatically mine. Importantly, by running Rainier MAX60 and providing users with services such as OpenRoaming™ Wi-Fi, users can earn four times the RoamPoints rewards of private Wi-Fi points.
Roam-baker-max30 will also be available in the future, priced at only $199.
Roam routers themselves have excellent performance as daily-use WiFi, and with continued economic incentives, they will surely drive a large number of WiFi nodes to join the OpenRoaming™ network.
Judging from the data, the number of WiFi connections added to Roam is growing rapidly. The number of WiFi connections has now reached 404,000. The number of APP users has reached 523,000. Roam's rapid growth began in December 2014, and in just 8 months, it has reached 400,000. In contrast, OpenRoaming has been under construction for many years, and the number of nodes is only more than 3.5 million now.
