Empowering India: The promise of Decentralization
While Indian internet usage ranks second in the world today behind China, with 43% of its total...
🔗How would Decentralisation of the Internet help India?
"This article was originally published by Ashish Bansal, a former member of ThreeFold Foundation."
Ashish Bansal has been a member of the ThreeFold support team since October 2021. He was born in India. Ashish believes that we all deserve a better internet which is free, decentralized and equal for all.
The Internet has become one of the most important aspects of human life. Our everyday lives are impacted by social media and other online platforms on a very minute level. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and others have become the most convenient way to stay in touch with friends and family. WhiteHart, Udemy and others have made quality education accessible to all. Swiggy, Zomato and others have made our favourite cuisine accessible at home. Amazon, Flipkart and others have grown the shopping experience for Indians with a variety of choices. Netflix, Hotstar, Youtube and others have made entertainment on demand easy for us.
Over the past decade, we have all gotten addicted to the comforts that the internet has brought to us, and it wouldn't be wrong for us to say that we cannot imagine our lives without the internet.
While Indian internet usage ranks second in the world today behind China, with 43% of its total population online, this also means that there is still a lot of untapped potential in India.
🔗Issues with current Internet
Although the internet has helped us in making our lives comfortable, there are several issues with the current Internet services we use. Some of them are mentioned below:
🔗Cyber security
The cyber security infrastructure in India today is not well equipped to tackle increasing cyber-crimes. You may not have the resolution to your complaints filed with Cyber Cell Portals on time. Hence there is an increasing number of fraudsters and hackers in India.
🔗Data ownership
Personal details shared by you on the internet are used by big companies to influence your decision-making process strategically.
🔗Higher cost to customers
Since internet infrastructure is owned and controlled by a few big companies, there is an irregular price increase which makes the internet unaffordable to many parts of rural India.
🔗Decentralised Internet is the solution
Decentralisation of the internet refers to the arrangement of the internet or its components such that no single entity or organization has control or authority over the network. It holds the potential to revolutionize the way every nation accesses and utilizes the world wide web. India, one of the biggest players in the digital world, can greatly benefit from Internet decentralization. It would open up many new opportunities for both the country and its citizens.
To start, decentralization of the internet would give India more control over its digital landscape. Instead of relying on a single, centralized entity to power its network, India could decentralize its internet and make the administration of the network much more efficient. With this additional control and efficiency, India could develop a more secure and reliable infrastructure, while also controlling the delivery of services. This could lead to faster, more reliable connection speeds, along with increased safety and security.
Additionally, decentralization of the internet would allow India to establish itself as a technological leader. By decentralizing the internet, India could shift its focus from the existing internet infrastructure to developing innovative technology and applications. This could include the development of decentralized artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and much more. Potential applications of these technologies could drastically improve the education, healthcare, and transportation sectors of India.
Finally, decentralization of the internet could help with digital media access and distribution. This could open up new opportunities for providing access to digital media in rural areas, allowing for more effective access to education and entertainment. Furthermore, it could also provide access to more reliable payment services, as well as better consumer protection policies.
In conclusion, decentralization of the internet holds the potential to greatly benefit India and its citizens. It would give India control over its internet infrastructure, opening the door for development of innovative technologies and applications. Additionally, it could provide more effective access to digital media, along with more reliable payment services and consumer protection policies. In order for India to take full advantage of the potential of decentralization of the internet, it must take decisive steps towards implementing the necessary reforms and investments to ensure its success.
🔗How TF9 can contribute
TF9 technology runs on the concept of a grid formed by farmers who are independent people, unlike big corporations, that connect their nodes anywhere network and electricity is present to create a global distributed internet infrastructure. This resolves the problem of monopoly and price of big internet companies.