Brennan Lautner, a fourth-year computer science major at Michigan Tech, is determined to restructure the internet marketplace through his company, PeerNet.
“In most regions, there are only a few internet service providers (ISPs) to choose from. ISPs often leverage these oligopolistic conditions to charge unfair prices for subpar service, making it hard for people to get quality internet.” Lautner said. “It’s very hard for new service providers to compete with existing ISPs that are already firmly implanted into the market. Instead of expecting a single entity to amass the capital, both technical and financial, to make an ISP, that cost can be distributed amongst individuals working together to form a network. PeerNet makes it easy to form these networks and motivates participation. Instead of relying on one central service, you’re relying on everyone participating in the network. It’s basically Uber’s ridesharing model applied to Internet service.”
Traditional Internet services work by connecting a personal computer to an ISP, which then routes data through a number of providers until it reaches the appropriate destination. In contrast to that system, PeerNet runs on a mesh net. In a mesh net, personal computers serve as “nodes” along which a message can be propagated. It eliminates the need for an ISP. It bypasses the oligopoly and instead creates a decentralized free market.
“The benefit to the consumer,” Lautner said, “is faster internet for a lower price.” In many cases, participants in the mesh net may even turn a profit. By participating in the network, you earn a reward based on how many messages you help reach their destination. “Everyone who participates in the network is optimized to be the cheapest and fastest connection possible because when you’re cheap and fast, more people are likely to work with you and thereby make you more money.”
The ability to make a profit is in the consumer’s control. A consumer looking to make money in PeerNet can upgrade their networking hardware and build faster connections. “It grows by itself. If there’s a region where there’s very little coverage or the connection is slow, adding your own access points in that area will be economically advantageous,” Lautner said.
To facilitate the purchase of internet access, PeerNet uses a non-blockchain cryptocurrency optimized for distributed topologies.
“To use PeerNet to send traffic, you can either buy tokens or earn them through participation in the network. The tokens would be equal to a quantity of data,” Lautner said. “They can be purchased directly from PeerNet or they can be purchased from other consumers. Users could buy tokens through a convenient mobile application.”
Although PeerNet is designed to work on top of any communications medium (radio, WiFi, long distance cable, etc.), Lautner is aiming to target mobile devices at first.
“You take something that most people already have – a cellphone – and you turn it into a network. This is especially useful in disaster zones like Puerto Rico where the grid has been knocked out,” Lautner said. “After a disaster, all people want to do is communicate with their families and let them know they are alright. PeerNet would allow them to do that with hardware they already own.”
Like any entrepreneur, Brennan Lautner hopes PeerNet will be lucrative, but his motivations extend beyond financial success. “I believe that unfettered access to the internet is a human right,” he said. “This technology is one of the most feasible ways of delivering the internet to as many people as possible.”
Unsurprisingly, PeerNet won the prize for “Most Disruptive Technological Innovation” at this year’s Bob Mark Elevator Pitch competition. To learn more about PeerNet, view Lautner’s presentation at https://goo.gl/GPznsW.
