Edge computer PKT Cube will try and help users monetize unused internet bandwidth. PKT Pal co-founder Josh Berger made the announcement at a session this week at Coin Agenda.
PKT Cube connects to the PKT blockchain, a Layer 1 protocol powered by PacketCrypt, the bandwidth-hard proof of work (PoW). The PKT Cube is a plug-and-play mining device that enables anyone in the world to monetize their unused internet bandwidth, and compensates users in PKT Cash every 60 seconds “for bandwidth that has already been paid for and is currently being wasted,” according to Berger.
“From February 1996 to December 2020, prices charged by internet service providers have increased by 250 per cent, which comes to 3.9 per cent per year,” Berger said “These organizations have an 80 percent profit margin before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. And consumers are paying the price, as they are defenseless against rate hikes from their local providers and monopoly ISPs.
“The good news for consumers is there’s another way. PKT is an open-source community project offering an exciting solution that would monetize a household’s internet connection by enabling anyone to become an ISP to their local community and make passive income from their internet connection, which has always been viewed as a hard cost of living.”
Each PKT Cube functions as an edge point powering the PKT Network. While mining PKT Cash does not require a PKT Cube, PKT Pal hardware devices come preloaded with a proprietary operating system called PkteerOS, which is designed to simplify the earning of PKT Cash. The PKT Cube is powered by the 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 CPU, and comes with a dashboard and access to dApps, including Bill Pay, launching in 2022, which will enable people to pay their utility bills, such as their internet costs, using their PKT Cash earnings.
The first step in building the PKT Network is providing infrastructure through bandwidth mining. When mining, people are transmitting “dummy data” using the PacketCrypt algorithm, which “plumbs the pipes” by requiring consistent upload and down capabilities. This mining process establishes and sustains the high-speed bandwidth availability and connectivity of the PKT Network while the PacketCrypt mining algorithm utilizes the same type of encryption used in VPN technology. Initially, people’s bandwidth is not being used to transmit any unique data, however, users will eventually be able to permission VPN usage to earn additional PKT Cash payments, the company pledged.
PKT Pal said the PKT Network is completely end-to-end encrypted, which provides users more privacy and safety than their current internet connection. The PKT technology roadmap will eventually enable people to provide internet access to their neighbors via localized mesh networks (worldwide) and wifi-sharing using cjdns technology. Through community participation and economic incentives, the PKT Network infrastructure is completely decentralized with no venture capital investment, no company, no CEO, and no pre-mine.