The most significant technological advancements are often the ones that no one sees coming. Think back to the 1950s when people thought that we’d be flying around in cars and having food sent by delivery tubes; when in fact life has been changed by the internet the most in the time since then. Smartphones, data analytics, and indeed blockchain technology itself have been the biggest developments lately, and until recently, blockchain especially was not taken seriously.
The point of this is that sometimes you have to suspend disbelief when appraising the prospects of a new venture. RightMesh is definitely one such prospect. It is a tricky idea to get your head around and is straight out of left field: using the network signal capabilities of smartphones to act as wifi transmitters, enabling users to bypass the need for telecoms networks. This was previously not a possibility, but with blockchain technology, it becomes a possibility.
Here we’ll discuss the ins and outs of how it works, the prospects of the idea and business model, and what the RightMesh operation consists of and what they’ve said about their plans.
The challenges of a decentralized internet network
As it stands, despite the conception in the developed world that the era of wireless internet has reached all parts of the globe, there are still many vast regions where things, like downloading apps or making VoIP calls, is prohibitively expensive or slow.
Furthermore, as RightMesh pointed out:
“Affordability is ‘challenging’ given that margins on data are already negative in many developing countries. And that, ‘reducing data prices while increasing capacity to deal with ever-increasing data demand requires modernized technologies and a rethinking of content distribution.’”
So there is neither the required connectivity not the will in some cases to get vast amounts of the world population without connectivity online.
Furthermore, the means to do so are not feasible with conventional technology. In order to establish a decentralized network as designed by RightMesh, there needs to be a means to link payments directly to data transfer and also to ensure data security. In a centralized network, this is all but impossible, and undoubtedly unfeasible given the razor-thin margins mentioned above.
The RightMesh solution
While it is technologically ambitious, the Rightmesh solution is easy to describe: the local capabilities of each smartphone or device can be linked to route a lot of data from one device to the next, making it a decentralized network of signal nodes. It is decentralization quite literally, allowing for an emergent network to function.
This is as complex and ambitious as it sounds. It requires a complex web of technologies and user value propositions to click to be profitable. But if it works, the possibilities of creating a game-changing service in a truly decentralized way is impressive.
Things are more difficult than they sound though. RightMesh clarified that:
“while other projects have removed centralized servers which may store websites, apps, and user data, users have no means to physically connect with other peers without the infrastructure supplied by ISPs and controlled by the middlemen previously mentioned (notably, corporations and governments).
While we have gained the ability to control who may possess our data, and create apps that operate without centralized infrastructure to manipulate this data in a meaningful way to extract value, we still almost always need to go through an ISP. In other words, we can do all the things the web can do with decentralized applications (e.g., without Amazon, Google, Facebook, PayPal, eBay, etc.), but we cannot yet do it without the help of Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, China Mobile, and other large infrastructure providers, even in our p2p-enabled, cryptocurrency world of today.”
What does this mean? In a word, that things are not entirely decentralized. It is a reasonable start to only rely on signal carriers, however.
Concerns about development
Unfortunately, the opportunity for investors has already hit a snag. The ICO is supposed to be underway, but the team released the following info:
“On Friday, March 23, 2018, we were contacted by the BCSC, a provincial securities regulator in Canada. According to the BCSC, they had some concerns that, although RightMesh AG is based in Zug, Switzerland, the TGE might be within the BCSC’s jurisdiction.”
The result? Their ICO delayed for about six weeks.
Investors wanting to keep track of developments should look at their Telegram: https://t.me/rightmesh_official
Verdict
Regarding investment, Rightmesh is a real lottery ticket. We think their plan has so much promise that they could warrant a small investment, but the risky and involved nature of their plan is concerning.
Strategically, this is a token worth buying early on, if you do invest. We think that the Rightmesh project is progressing well, and if they get mainstream adoption (a big if), then their price could skyrocket. This does not seem like the ICO investment to stake a lot of your portfolio on, however.
