The potential utilization scale for a radio-based blockchain backup
EDIT: The project discussed was a failure and the anonymous team disappeared with investors’ money. However, the idea was interesting and I will keep the two articles I wrote available, in case another group finds the topic interesting. The products previously mentioned in the article have been changed to XXX, X, and XY to represent possible future solutions.
In 2019, the internet was almost completely cut off in Sudan for a week. Plenty of similar cases are happening everywhere in the world, even right now. Governments deciding to block websites or applications are becoming more and more common, with the U.S. debating on whether to ban TikTok, China continuing to block a large number of foreign websites, Turkey blocking access to social media platforms during protests, along with many other cases. Soon, the ban may start to focus on blockchains because of their existing censorship resistance. Although blockchains themselves are censorship resistant, they cannot maintain this function without a working internet connection. Therefore, even a blockchain will not be able to send data if a government, or other entity, decides to cause an internet blackout.
To solve this massive issue, XXX is creating a radio-based backup blockchain system that provides resistance to network failure and internet censorship. This system is called X. X works by using amateur radio stations in combination with the XY protocol to keep the blockchain operational, even after the internet has been shut down.
To determine the potential utilization scale of a radio-based backup system, we must first determine how many amateur radio stations there are in the world. The amount may increase or decrease in the future, depending on people’s interests and the availability of the required equipment. Below is a table which presents the number of amateur radio operators in 22 countries, many of which have experienced internet censorship in the past. A slightly more comprehensive list can be found here.
It is interesting to see how many amateur radio operators there still are in the world. The United States, Japan, Thailand, and China all have over 100 000 operators. This means, that even a fraction of the operators would be enough to maintain a backup of the blockchain and continue censor free data sharing within the country until an alternative option has been resolved. It should be noted, that some countries’ reports in the table are from over 20 years ago, which means that the number may be very different today.
The number of amateur radio operators that still exist in the world is much higher than some may think. There are many countries where the number of operators has not been reported, so it is likely that thousands upon thousands of operators exist that are not counted for. The rise of blockchain technology in countries susceptible for network blackouts may also increase interest in amateur radio, if projects such as X are successful.
In conclusion, although projects such as this seem very niche on the surface, they provide a valuable addition to the blockchain world. The technology helps maintain the idea of a world without censorship by serving as a backup in a scenario where the blockchain alone is not strong enough. The number of amateur radio operators is still surprisingly high, meaning that a large community of potential early adopters for this new-old technology already exists in the world.
