Controlled Wi-Fi Sharing in Cities: A Decentralized Approach Relying on Indirect Reciprocity

—In densely populated cities, Wi-Fi networks—private or otherwise—are ubiquitous. We focus on the provision of citywide broadband communication capability to mobile users through private Wi-Fi networks that are in range but belong to others. We form a club that relies on indirect reciprocity: Members participate in the club and provide free Wi-Fi access to other members in order to enjoy the same benefit when they are away from their own Wi-Fi network. Our club scheme does not require registration with an authority and does not rely on centrally issued club identities: Members create their own identities (public-private key pairs) and receive signed digital receipts when they provide Wi-Fi service to other members. These receipts form a distributed receipt graph, parts of which are used as input to an indirect reciprocity algorithm that classifies club members according to their contribution. We show that our algorithm can sustain cooperation within the club and is robust to atta...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: TMC
• Authors: Elias C. Efstathiou, Pantelis A. Frangoudis, George C. Polyzos
• Keywords: Club, TMC 2010, Wi-Fi, Wi-fi Network