Accessing free public WiFi and staying connected while you travel will soon be a lot easier. Keep reading to find out why.

One Global WiFi Network

MetaBlox has joined the Wireless Broadband alliance (WBA) to build a global WiFi network using OpenRoaming technology. OpenRoaming is a new WiFi protocol that allows for the ‘merging’ of multiple local networks so that users don’t have to login every time to access each one. Instead OpenRoaming delivers automatic connections at all merged networks after one initial login to OpenRoaming. This even works with WiFi networks that are large distances apart.

MetaBlox and the WBA’s OpenRoaming network already has over 2 million access points around the world. Anyone can access free WiFi on the network by downloading the MetaBlox app and generating a special OpenRoaming credential. After logging in at any initial OpenRoaming location, users subsequently get automatic WiFi connections at over 2 million OpenRoaming locations worldwide.

Your OpenRoaming Credential

The credential that the MetaBlox app generates for OpenRoaming access is called a decentralized identifier (or DID). MetaBlox and the WBA’s 2 million+ OpenRoaming access points (e.g routers) verify these credentials to authorize users’ devices for WiFi access.

This section will summarize what separates the DID from other web credentials.

Web2 Credentials

To access WiFi in Web2, we use credentials that are stored on the central databases of ISPs and verified by centralized third-party authenticators. Providers also often ask for users to sign up to their WiFi networks by making accounts with sensitive personal info, and this data is held by the ISP on a central server. In Web2, you have to relinquish private data for permission to access WiFi.

And with Web2 credentials, you could only access your credential for WiFi while you remained a customer with the given ISP/credential issuer. At the same time, ISPs remain free to use the personal data on the credentials even after account closures.

This all changes with the DID, which is the WiFi credential native to Web3.

Web3 Credentials

A DID is a type of digital credential that is verified decentrally on a blockchain by a network of nodes (or verifying computers). This means DIDs are authenticated decentrally in a mining process rather than via a central third party authenticator.

It also means that DID credentials are not stored on ISPs’ databases. Instead, they’re stored on the blockchain in the same way crypto tokens are, meaning that they cannot be accessed without a private key — and only users get this.

After generating their DID on the MetaBlox app, users get a private key for accessing it. This storage method keeps credentials off central databases, preventing your data from being exploited.

On-Chain Anonymity
Though DID-based credentials are verified and recorded on a publicly viewable blockchain network, they are able to anonymize users by letting them choose how to present themselves to the verifying nodes.

That’s because to authorize users for WiFi access, nodes don’t need any of the personal information associated with the DID holder. That means users can stay anonymous even though their DID-verifications are recorded on the blockchain. Anyone viewing these transactions on the blockchain won’t be able to trace them back to a particular user.

Read more about DIDs.

MetaBlox WiFi Mining

MetaBlox’s WiFi OpenRoaming access points are routers that function as blockchain nodes to verify DID credentials. They do so in a mining process in order to authorize users for network access. As a result of this interaction with the blockchain, MetaBlox nodes issue mining rewards (mPoints) as they establish WiFi connections.

In terms of physical hardware, MetaBlox’s OpenRoaming access points are simply special WiFi routers, but they process on-chain credentials which results in mining opportunities. The more DID credentials a given miner verifies for WiFi OpenRoaming access, the more rewards it issues.

Anyone who purchases a MetaBlox miner gets the mPoints it generates for verifying DIDs, and these rewards will become convertible to ROAM tokens after the project’s token listing in 2024.

MetaBlox’s Miner-NFT

Instead of buying a MetaBlox miner, you can also purchase a MetaBlox NFT, which secures holders the rights to the yields from a MetaBlox miner located in a premium location with high WiFi traffic.

The NFT-linked miners are also fully operated by MetaBlox, so holders don’t face any of the costs associated with hardware mining, such as for energy, maintenance, etc.

After MetaBlox’s token generation event in 2024, all $ROAM will become available to withdraw and exchange for other tokens or fiat on DeFi platforms.

Easy, Free WiFi

MetaBlox and the WBA’s WiFi OpenRoaming network will revolutionize public WiFi by putting it back into the hand of users rather than centralized platforms. It will also meet Web3’s connectivity requirements by delivering automatic WiFi to millions of public locations around the world, letting users explore the Metaverse, deFi, and more.

Visit MetaBlox’s social media channels and join the growing decentralized OpenRoaming community for updates and rewards!