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Helium as an incentive for the LoRaWAN network is the killer app for crypto. People are building a world wide LoT network. It's all decentralized. It's all bein

Helium as an incentive for the LoRaWAN network is the killer app for crypto. People are building a world wide LoT network. It's all decentralized. It's all being created by people who earn helium as a reward. I think the same model can be duplicated for other needs. If we give it time we'll see more solutions being created using the same model.

wmf 4y ago
Does Helium have any usage yet? I heard they're charging higher prices than cellular carriers.
- latchkey 4y ago
  Does it have to be a lower price if it works better? Uber / Lyft is often more expensive than taxis, once the VC funding dried up. That said, I still generally prefer shared rides cause it is an easy app to pull up on my phone.
  - dubswithus 4y ago
    I use Uber so I don't get kidnapped -- which is a serious concern where I live.
- WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
  Well you need Helium to use the network so at the very least there is that. Maybe you can get Helium by setting up your own node(?), if you need to use the network. It make sense for you as a user to add to the network so you can get some Helium. I don't know the accounting but I think there is a possibility for it to be less expensive. I really don't know a lot but I do know that it's a self improving network so in time the economic parts will work themselves out. I also believe that the current model of setting up networks can't keep up with a self improving network. Imagine a network that's always a top of the line network. That grows or shrinks as needed. Who will have the resources to compete with it?
aforwardslash 4y ago
I'm old enough to remember WiFi mesh networks, OLPC and how they would change the world in the future. I've lived in that future for a while now, and seldom see an actual mesh network. One of the advantages of LoRa is that is free. Any monetization scheme on top of this is actually prejudicial to the tech. Also - from my limited knowledge - LoRa is actually quite prone to abuse or traffic prioritization; this is often not an issue on a self-regulated community, but it will clearly be an issue if there is monetary incentive to disrupt the network behaviour.
- WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
  I think that longevity is something that no other solution can bring. In theory, this network can live forever and improve as tech improves. Look at the Bitcoin network. At this point you have to have a top level miner to be worth mining at all. If we can apply the same to a communications network then we would know that the network is running at the very best levels since there is an incentive for that to happen. In current networks the incentive is to use the same tech as long as possible since it's too expensive for all of it to be replaced by new tech. I don't have the answers but Crypto brings something to the network that other tech can't.

wmf 4y ago

Does Helium have any usage yet? I heard they're charging higher prices than cellular carriers.

latchkey 4y ago
Does it have to be a lower price if it works better? Uber / Lyft is often more expensive than taxis, once the VC funding dried up. That said, I still generally prefer shared rides cause it is an easy app to pull up on my phone.
- dubswithus 4y ago
  I use Uber so I don't get kidnapped -- which is a serious concern where I live.
WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
Well you need Helium to use the network so at the very least there is that. Maybe you can get Helium by setting up your own node(?), if you need to use the network. It make sense for you as a user to add to the network so you can get some Helium. I don't know the accounting but I think there is a possibility for it to be less expensive. I really don't know a lot but I do know that it's a self improving network so in time the economic parts will work themselves out. I also believe that the current model of setting up networks can't keep up with a self improving network. Imagine a network that's always a top of the line network. That grows or shrinks as needed. Who will have the resources to compete with it?

aforwardslash 4y ago

I'm old enough to remember WiFi mesh networks, OLPC and how they would change the world in the future. I've lived in that future for a while now, and seldom see an actual mesh network. One of the advantages of LoRa is that is free. Any monetization scheme on top of this is actually prejudicial to the tech. Also - from my limited knowledge - LoRa is actually quite prone to abuse or traffic prioritization; this is often not an issue on a self-regulated community, but it will clearly be an issue if there is monetary incentive to disrupt the network behaviour.

WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
I think that longevity is something that no other solution can bring. In theory, this network can live forever and improve as tech improves. Look at the Bitcoin network. At this point you have to have a top level miner to be worth mining at all. If we can apply the same to a communications network then we would know that the network is running at the very best levels since there is an incentive for that to happen. In current networks the incentive is to use the same tech as long as possible since it's too expensive for all of it to be replaced by new tech. I don't have the answers but Crypto brings something to the network that other tech can't.