peaq, the Web3 network powering the Economy of Things, announces a partnership with The Airwaive Project, a blockchain-based decentralized wireless broadband platform. The partnership begins with joint research, tests, and a cross-chain bridge that will link Airwaive’s testnet with peaq’s testnet and will grow to enable the Machine Pools and other Machine DeFi services running on peaq to support initiatives working to connect the unconnected via Airwaive’s decentralized broadband platform.
With more and more activities to do with work and leisure moving online, the digital divide between those enjoying fast and affordable Internet access and those lacking it has never been more important to bridge. About one-third of Earth’s population has never been online. During the COVID pandemic, about two-thirds of schoolchildren around the globe had no Internet access, affecting their academic progress. The issue is most acute in developing economies, where the most remote and cash-strapped communities are often the most underserved in terms of connectivity and the benefits it brings. This is only set to grow more urgent as the number of connected machines requiring 24/7 internet access proliferates, meaning the very communities that stand to gain the most from these smart, connected machines have no connectivity infrastructure to keep them going. Lack of access to connected vehicles, robots, and devices of all kinds will further deepen the rich-poor divide.
Airwaive works to change the connectivity paradigm by decentralizing the last-mile service delivery, which connects a specific device with the global network, and leveraging blockchain and 5G wireless transmissions as the technological core of its vision. Its tokenomics model incentivizes users to create entire wireless networks or earn by providing access hotspots to other community members, with the reward volume dependent on the number of users served. So far, Airwaive’s ecosystem already includes more than 50 operators, with the infrastructure stretching across 6 million host locations.
The partnership also opens up more liquidity for both ecosystems, enabling Airwaive network creators to leverage Machine DeFi running on peaq. As a potential use case, network creators can subsidize the costs via peaq’s Machine DeFi mechanisms that enable them to tap the peaq community for on-chain financial resources, rewarding those contributing with a share of their Airwaive connectivity mining rewards. This will be especially beneficial for the more financially vulnerable communities who may otherwise be unable to afford the upfront costs of the hardware.
By partnering with Airwaive, peaq brings a new connectivity tool to developers and entrepreneurs building the Economy of Things, enabling them to leverage Airwaive’s decentralized broadband access service. It also opens an array of opportunities for the Airwaive community, such as leveraging peaq ID, peaq’s Self-Sovereign Machine Identities (SSMIs), for device identification. The partnership will also connect the Airwaive infrastructure with major industry consortia such as MOBI and Gaia-X, where peaq is actively participating, granting its connectivity providers access to enterprise-grade use cases with massive demand for Web access and full legal compliance.
“Connectivity is a crucial pillar of the Economy of Things on peaq, which runs on verifiable ownership through the Web,” says Till Wendler, co-founder of peaq. “By partnering with Airwaive, we add another layer of decentralization into our overall ecosystem while also opening up the possibility of new and promising dApps while helping to close the digital divide.”
“An on-chain economy powered by smart machines creating real-world value must stay online 24/7,” said Jeff Yee, CEO of Airwaive. “By teaming up with peaq, we bring its community access to more affordable and more decentralized connectivity options and help network creators connect the unconnected by leveraging peaq’s machine-powered decentralized finance.”
