Providing incentives in providerless networks

This paper explores the extension of a model for the operation of an ad hoc mobile network to more general providerless networks, such as peer-to-peer systems. The model incorporates incentives for users to act as transit nodes on multi-hop paths and to be rewarded with their own ability to send traffic. The paper explores some of the trust questions that arise in this problem space and conjectures that the very structure of a peer organisation may have some hidden benefits for trust re-enforcement, that have not been previously explored (to our knowledge).