A self-managed scheme for free citywide Wi-Fi

We present a self-managed scheme that could fuel the deployment of free public wireless networks in cities; we call it peer-to-peer wireless network confederation (P2PWNC). Unlike existing approaches, P2PWNC does not rely on central planning but on an ad hoc community of broadband Internet subscribers (the peers) with Wi-Fi access points (APs). These APs provide wireless access to peers that are away from home but within the range of another P2PWNC AP. In the P2PWNC scheme, wireless service is provided to those peers who consistently provide service to passerby peers, based on an algorithm that detects non-simultaneous multi-way peer-to-peer exchanges. This indirect reciprocity algorithm runs in isolation on every peer AP, resists Sybil attacks, and promotes cooperation without relying on trusted authorities, certified identities, or tamperproof modules. We discuss P2PWNC´s design and show preliminary results that support its feasibility.