Decentralized and dispersed networks have become increasingly popular in recent years for a variety of reasons. What exactly is the problem with the conventionally centralized networks? It’s well-known that centralized networks are based on a single lead server, which can collect and control all of the network’s data at once.

Since this, centralized networks, as stated in this link, https://www.webopedia.com/definitions/centralized-network/,  are susceptible to cyberattacks and system failures because just a single server has to be compromised or brought offline for the entire network to be rendered inoperable. Despite this, centralized networks continue to be the most common form of network employed in modern computing. It’s possible to make the case that this has something to do with the fact that companies want total power over their networks.

However, this might result in large businesses encountering significant challenges. Have you ever experienced downtime on one of your preferred social networking websites? There is a good chance that they are employing a central server and also that the master server has now been struck by an external factor or is experiencing some kind of technical problem.

Therefore, it is clear that centralized networks are in desperate need of an update. This is where decentralized and dispersed networks come into play. To begin, therefore, what exactly is meant by the term “decentralized network”?

What Does It Mean to Have a Decentralized Network?

It’s possible that you’ve been familiar with the term “decentralized networks” in recent times, with the cryptocurrency industry and blockchain technology gaining more traction in today’s modern society. Because these networks provide a variety of attractive qualities, there is a growing demand for them. But what exactly do they involve?

This type of network, in contrast to typical centralized networks, does not rely on a single server that is located in the center of the network. They make use of a diverse collection of connecting points, also known as nodes. 

Because it is impossible for a single node to access all of the information available throughout the network at the same time, there is never going to be a node that is in command or in control. Each node has the ability to make its own decisions and analyze information, allowing for a more even distribution of power in the network.

There has never been a wireless network that is completely decentralized, open-source and owned, and controlled by its users.

Pronto, a San Francisco-based business that specializes in off-road autonomous driving, created Pollen. Their technology needed a consistent and economical mobile connection, which they weren’t receiving with traditional carriers, so they developed their own network. Pollen quickly recognized that by opening up their technology, they might allow the world’s first decentralized, privacy-focused, cheap mobile network that would be owned and controlled by the users of the network.

What Is Helium?

Helium Hotspots operate in a manner that is strikingly comparable to that of WiFi routers; yet, as a result of their usage of radio waves at lower frequencies, they are able to transmit lesser data over significantly greater distances. They are able to cover a huge area in this fashion, but their data transmission capacity is limited, so they can only send out a few packets at a time.

Imagine that instead of WiFi, you had a piece of bread in your router. As you open it up further, it becomes thinner and less able to hold components before breaking down. In its most basic form, Helium Hotspots may be thought of as an expanded model of conventional WiFi routers. They offer greater geographic coverage while reducing the amount of data that must be transferred between each device.

Helium’s LongFi Network is another name for a LoRaWAN network, and this is how it works. Because it is optimized for the transmission of modest volumes of data, it is an ideal option for a wide variety of Internet of Things sensor applications. For example, the Helium Network is currently keeping track of GPS coordinates, basic information about air quality, and how often devices are used.

The majority of the existing applications of Helium’s LongFi network in the real world include the expansion of coverage and the establishment of financial efficiency for Internet of Things sensor firms. While these improvements are critical, they can also be considered as setting the framework for a slew of yet-to-be-imagined new use cases. 

Helium is home to one of the world’s first and largest decentralized wireless networks. Device-to-device communication solutions will likely continue to evolve over the next several years as they go into the 5G network era and beyond.

The Helium Network is driven by its native cryptocurrency token, which is denoted as HNT. Its usage within the Helium environment is two-fold. This token is first given out as a prize for Helium hot spots which successfully fulfill “Proof of Coverage” activities or assist IoT sensor devices with Network Data Transfers. Among these is the Pollen Mobile Elderflower device. Helium’s LongFi network has grown enormously over the past year because of this form of crypto-incentivization.

Helium Data Credits

On the other hand, HNT may be exchanged for Helium’s Data Credits in order to make a purchase. Users are able to really transfer data through “The People’s Network” with the use of these credits, which function in a manner analogous to “prepaid smartphone minutes.” The cost of Helium’s Data Credits is permanently set at $0.00001 USD, and the HNT that is “burned” from the overall supply in order to make the purchase is the same amount that is spent.

All data-driven participants in the Helium Network must purchase HNT in order to obtain Data Credits. What if your smart scooter startup wants to use “the People’s Network” to send data from the scooters all the way to the blockchain? To achieve this goal, you will first need to acquire HNT, and then you will need to transform that HNT into Data Credits. After that, you may put those Data Credits to use to transmit the data collected by your Internet of Things sensor devices through the network and, ultimately, to your servers.

It is a network that is maintained by the community that provides users and developers of Internet of Things technology with access to public wireless services. In return for their efforts, hosts are rewarded with an extremely valuable cryptocurrency known as the Helium Network Token (HNT). It has taken Helium just two years to build the world’s largest public LoRaWAN® network. Click here for more on LoRaWAN.  The decentralized wireless network architecture is a novel approach to the construction of public networks that is here to stay. 

The Decentralized Wireless Team of CalChip Connect is responsible for the validation, distribution, and sale of network connectivity (both LoRa® and LTE), and also point solutions (Internet of Things products and systems) that link to publicly decentralized wireless connections.