From Pigeons to NewNode: Last Mile Tech (Part 2)

September 20, 2022
From Pigeons to NewNode: Last Mile Tech (Part 2)

In the previous article in this series, Ben Teitelbaum described one way in which NewNode follows historical precedent: it is a network that was created as an overlay on top of an existing internet network, much like the internet itself was an overlay over the phone network in its early days.

In this article, we will explore another aspect of NewNode’s continuation of historical trends: its place as a last mile solution.

Local radio in NewNode

NewNode uses local radio (that is, Bluetooth and Wifi Direct) to exchange messages directly between nearby phones without using network infrastructure. Individual phones can not only send and receive messages, but also serve as transit points for others’ messages. If Alice is within range of Bob and Bob is within range of Charlie, Alice’s message to Charlie will be delivered in two hops, using Bob’s device as a transit node. The more people are within range of one another, the bigger the mesh and the faster the network.

This serves not only to establish an ad hoc network without a capital network infrastructure, but also to link this network to the outside world. If Alice, Bob and Charlie are all on a desert island, and Charlie happens to have a satellite phone, messages will travel back and forth through Charlie’s device. So this ad hoc network becomes the “last mile” for global messaging.

Moreover, NewNode has a caching function. Let’s say I am camping in Yosemite Park, and I want to send a message to my friend in New York City. Unfortunately, there’s no internet access at my campground. I send a message anyway, and NewNode disseminates it to the phones of other nearby campers using Bluetooth connection. Their phones store the message as they continue to go about their lives. A couple of the campers go deeper into the forest, but one has had enough and goes home to San Francisco. As soon as he gets back to the city, his phone sends my message through regular internet channels.

Historical Parallel 1: Modems

You may remember a comparison of NewNode and modems from Ben’s article: like NewNode, modems make up an overlay network. In addition to that commonality, modems have another similarity to NewNode: they act as local communication tools, too.

A modem allows transmission of data (packets) between computers on a telephone line. Up until the spread of broadband in the mid-2000s, modems were the primary means of connecting households to the Internet. If you wanted to connect, you would “place a call” using a modem. Generally, the call would go straight from your house to your town’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), which was connected to the wider Internet with always-on links.

But connecting to the Internet was not the only way modems were used. You could also dial another user directly. And, like with NewNode, this media was used to create ad hoc networks. One such network, a community of enthusiasts known as FidoNet, operated from the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s. At its peak in 1993, FidoNet had about four million users. Using a store-and-forward system, much like NewNode, it distributed private messages and public posts to the “bulletin boards” with no involvement from the ISPs. The network eventually fizzled out with the increased, broad availability of low-cost Internet connections starting in the early 2000s.

NewNode’s use of local radio is similar to the use of modems by computer users in the 1980s and 1990s. When used to build a local mesh network, it is similar to bulletin board networks like the FidoNet. When used to link that mesh network with the wider world, it parallels using the ISPs.

Historical Parallel 2: Ham Radio

Amateur radio, also known as “ham radio,” is a movement made up of independent radio operators. Ham radio users purchase their own equipment and broadcast whatever content interests them.

While there are still many ham radio users today, the movement itself is more than a century old, having reached its peak by the late 1980s. Culturally, it was an outlet for creative expression and commentary (there was even a movie made about it). While ham radio can be set to broadcast farther around the world, it often centered on community issues in the broadcaster’s town, targeting a local audience.

Ham radio was not explicitly used to re-transmit data from other established networks, but it commonly served as a venue to spread and discuss ideas and messages broadcast there. The analogy here is more of a technical and cultural nature. Ham radio operators use cheap, off-the-shelf equipment to establish networks in a grassroots fashion, following end user needs and independent of major players such as radio stations. This is similar to NewNode ad hoc networks arising wherever there is a congregation of NewNode users with cheap, off-the-shelf equipment - their smartphones.

There is also a political analogy. While ham radio was regulated for its use of radio frequencies, it always remained a venue with much more freedom from regulations and big commercial interests than major radio stations. Similarly, NewNode provides a channel that stands apart from outside monitoring and meddling.

Historical Parallel 3: Pigeon Post

The oldest, perhaps most obvious example of effective local communication: pigeons!

Pigeons have been used to deliver messages for at least 2,000 years. Curiously, though, this method was revived as recently as the late nineteenth century - after the invention of the telegraph seemed to have made the birds obsolete. In 1870-1871, Paris was under siege by German troops. Postal and telegraph services were cut off. With other means of communication unavailable, Paris resorted to the ancient method of pigeon-based communication.

When telegraph wires were cut and several couriers who attempted to deliver mail were assassinated, carrier pigeons became the prime method of communication, with over a million messages exchanged over the four months of the siege. Letters and microfilms were sent back and forth from the communications centers in Tours and then Poiters, 200 and 300 kilometers from Paris.

Once the message-bearing pigeons arrived outside of Paris, of course, those messages could be sent anywhere around the world by telegraph from free Tours or Poiters. Like NewNode, pigeons provided “last mile” access, connecting a damaged local network to the main network shared by the rest of the world.

Conclusion

There have been many creative solutions to stretching or transcending global networks and allowing communication beyond their reach. As a cellphone app, NewNode is the most modern technology to follow in the footsteps of a long history of last mile solutions, providing access to information and communications for everyone.

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