In a WiFi industry milestone marking the transition from Web2 to Web3, MetaBlox will be demonstrating its decentralized WiFi OpenRoaming network at the Wireless Global Congress (WGC) this October.

Presenters will connect to WiFi via a MetaBlox miner, which verifies on-chain credentials to achieve a privacy-protected and decentralized WiFi connection.

Hundreds of these miners have already been deployed as part of MetaBlox and the Wireless Broadband Alliance’s (WBA’s) global WiFi OpenRoaming network, which provides automatic internet connections at more than 2 million locations worldwide.

About the Wireless Global Congress

The WGC conference is the wireless networking world’s preeminent tech conference, where new developments in WiFi technologies are presented and discussed by industry leaders. The event is hosted by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) association of WiFi providers and telcos.

Open-Roaming Demo to Preview MetaBlox App and Special WiFi Router

At its WGC presentation MetaBlox will use its app to connect to one of its decentralized WiFi hotspots generated by a MetaBlox miner.

These miners produce $ROAM tokens as they verify on-chain credentials to establish WiFi connections. Anyone can generate one of these credentials for free on the MetaBlox app to access the WiFi OpenRoaming network.

Download the app now for IoS or Android.

The hotspot-miners will be installed in thousands of locations around the world, constituting MetaBlox’s free Open-Roaming network. After establishing a connection at one MetaBlox hotspot, users will be able to switch seamlessly between hotspots without having to login with the MetaBlox app again.

At the conference MetaBlox will also demonstrate the node viewing feature of its app, which displays a map showing available miner-hotspots in the user’s area.

Web3 Authentication Protocol

MetaBlox’s decentralized WiFi demo will debut the company’s special data sharing and authentication protocol used to verify the aforementioned on-chain WiFi credentials, which are known as decentralized identities or DIDs.

Since they are verified on-chain, DIDs cannot be stored by any third party and can only be accessed with the user’s private key. This addresses data exposure concerns that persist under traditional OpenRoaming connection models.

Moreover, DIDs protect on-chain privacy since they anonymize users’ identity. In other words, this means users’ credential-verification histories (which are recorded on the blockchain whenever they connect to WiFi using their DID) cannot be traced back to a particular individual.

The DIDs MetaBlox uses for its network also implement Verifiable Credentials (VC) protocol, which lets users limit the personal information included on their ID. Unlike traditional IDs such as drivers licenses, DIDs can show only the data needed to access the service they are designated for, omitting unnecessary personal info.

Read more about MetaBlox’s Web3 access protocol.

Miner-NFT

The MetaBlox NFT secures for holders the ongoing $ROAM tokens yields generated by a MetaBlox WiFi miner. And among MetaBlox miners, the NFT-pegged ones get the locations with the busiest WiFi traffic, maximizing yields.

Read about the NFT’s other lucrative utilities on its dedicated webpage!

Blockchain’s WGC Debut

Web3 to attendees. This debut marks a shift in the WiFi industry towards decentralization and greater user control, as older networking models continue to raise concerns over data exposure and privacy.

“The explosion of blockchain in recent years has created the revolutionary opportunity to decentralize wireless networking and give users greater control over their data. To do this, we are delivering a free, global OpenRoaming network that operates decentrally using blockchain technology”.

-Jeffrey Manner, Co-founder and CEO of MetaBlox

About the WBA

The Wireless Broadband Alliance, which hosts the Wireless Global Congress, is an association of wireless networking and telecom companies dedicated to addressing issues and opportunities related to new WiFi technologies.

The WBA’s member companies undertake initiatives related to both business and technical aspects of the wireless networking industry, working in such cutting edge areas as next generation Wi-Fi, Open-Roaming, 5G/6G, IoT, and now Web3.

MetaBlox and the WBA

MetaBlox has recently joined the WBA alliance of WiFi providers and related companies. Together, MetaBlox and its partners within the association are developing next-generation WiFi technologies and standards that deliver greatly improved user experiences as well as enhanced data security.

To keep updated on the MetaBlox project, visit its social media channels!