Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs • Hacker News Board

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#21

Post by traceroute66 » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:45 AM UTC

sekh60 wrote: post #20

traceroute66 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why does this need a blockchain? Fon/BT has been sharing residential WiFi for years without blockchain The difference is, as per the article, that the Japanese operator wants to re-imburse the WiFi hotspot subscriber. Something which is very much alien to BT's way of thinking. Of course, whether blockchain is the right way do implement that aspect is a different question, and in terms of implementation I would agre…

I really thought we all got off the blockchain bandwagon.

So did I, so did I ... ;(

I still have memories of people like lawyers desperately asking me how they could use blockchain in their practice.

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#22

Post by EGreg » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:45 AM UTC

can16358p wrote: post #18

While I love the blockchain-based solution which also probably handles payments (a nice use of crypto instead of many scam projects that give it a bad reputation), if they don't scale on a L2 network scalability will be a huge issue.

It can all be done without blockchain. Blockchain is not needed for anything. Anything built on blockchain is likely to be a grift and a scam.

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#23

Post by EGreg » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:47 AM UTC

sekh60 wrote: post #20

traceroute66 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why does this need a blockchain? Fon/BT has been sharing residential WiFi for years without blockchain The difference is, as per the article, that the Japanese operator wants to re-imburse the WiFi hotspot subscriber. Something which is very much alien to BT's way of thinking. Of course, whether blockchain is the right way do implement that aspect is a different question, and in terms of implementation I would agre…

I really thought we all got off the blockchain bandwagon.

We did. Anything with blockchain in it is a scam. This year the bandwagon should be AI.

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#24

Post by OJFord » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:47 AM UTC

traceroute66 wrote: post #17

kwhitefoot wrote: post #5

Why does this need a blockchain? Fon/BT has been sharing residential WiFi for years without blockchain.

> Why does this need a blockchain? Fon/BT has been sharing residential WiFi for years without blockchain The difference is, as per the article, that the Japanese operator wants to re-imburse the WiFi hotspot subscriber. Something which is very much alien to BT's way of thinking. Of course, whether blockchain is the right way do implement that aspect is a different question, and in terms of implementation I would agre…

I suppose for solving the chicken-egg (provider-subscriber) problem, being able to pre-sell the token at a discount or because people believe it will blow up and be a popular way of accessing the internet and highly in demand, it may irrationally be easier to convince the average person to subscribe to your centralised 'blockchain' than to your.. database. A ponzi's sexier than a pre-order.

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#25

Post by jeroenhd » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:51 AM UTC

yoavm wrote: post #7

rjh29 wrote: post #4

I am in Japan and when my mobile net has run out I've had to use public wifi for a day or two and it's not a pretty picture. I find I can barely connect after multiple tries and they drop out frequently, and often have time limits like 20 minutes on them. Usually I get a sim from the airport vending machine, or for longer trips go to Yodobashi/Bic Camera and get one, you can get 30GB for less than the cost of a month…

I don't know how it works on iPhone, but on Android you can easily get a new mac address and get additional 20 minutes. Settings > Developer Options > Wi-Fi non-persistent MAC randomization. Then just forget the network and reconnect.

I don't know how it's managed on your phone, but I get an option per WiFi network on my phone to control whether I use a random MAC address or a my phone's.

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#26

Post by EGreg » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:52 AM UTC

knorker wrote: post #14

> should be shared with blockchain No, this is not finally a use case for blockchains. (before any zealot goes "AHA!", obviously I mean a distributed trust blockchain, not e.g. git)

git does not use a blockchain

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#27

Post by moffkalast » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 9:57 AM UTC

tjbiddle wrote: post #13

rjh29 wrote: post #4

I am in Japan and when my mobile net has run out I've had to use public wifi for a day or two and it's not a pretty picture. I find I can barely connect after multiple tries and they drop out frequently, and often have time limits like 20 minutes on them. Usually I get a sim from the airport vending machine, or for longer trips go to Yodobashi/Bic Camera and get one, you can get 30GB for less than the cost of a month…

> Tokyo has five million Wi-Fi access points – and that's 20 times what the city needs, because they’re reserved for private use Unsure if you were trying to make a point to debate the article; but it appears they're specifically speaking of private networks, not public.

They don't exist in a vacuum, they all pollute the channels with noise. Public ones indubitably perform worse due to all the private ones.

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#28

Post by circuit10 » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 10:01 AM UTC

yoavm wrote: post #7

rjh29 wrote: post #4

I am in Japan and when my mobile net has run out I've had to use public wifi for a day or two and it's not a pretty picture. I find I can barely connect after multiple tries and they drop out frequently, and often have time limits like 20 minutes on them. Usually I get a sim from the airport vending machine, or for longer trips go to Yodobashi/Bic Camera and get one, you can get 30GB for less than the cost of a month…

I don't know how it works on iPhone, but on Android you can easily get a new mac address and get additional 20 minutes. Settings > Developer Options > Wi-Fi non-persistent MAC randomization. Then just forget the network and reconnect.

iOS has “Private Wi-Fi Address” which I think is the same thing

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#29

Post by nikanj » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 10:02 AM UTC

kwhitefoot wrote: post #5

Why does this need a blockchain? Fon/BT has been sharing residential WiFi for years without blockchain.

Because this idea is almost 20 years old, but adding "with BLOCKCHAIN" to the pitch deck gets you express entry into the unicorn club

Re: Tokyo has 20 times as much WiFi as it needs

#30

Post by NoZebra120vClip » Thu, Apr 27, 2023, 10:16 AM UTC

I live in a high-density multi-family apartment block. 300 families in a small space.

There are probably at least 300 SSIDs being broadcast in this area, plus Bluetooth and other noise.

This is a low-income joint, so amenities are comparatively minimal, but there's just no excuse for not forging a deal with one of the local ISPs and having their WiFi/Ethernet to blanket the property, convincing residents to shut their personal ones down in favor of a robust replacement. (I don't know how you do that, but the benefits are obvious.)

In fact, when I moved in, their marketing material blurbed "High-Speed Internet!" but it turned out they just meant that the wiring was present for us to hook it up.

There is already a WAP supplied by my own ISP directly below me, and I can easily, seamlessly move to using it instead of my in-home network, which is great during an electrical storm.