The peer-to-peer wireless network confederation scheme protocol, algorithms, and services

In metropolitan areas, public infrastructures for high-speed wireless networking can be built through the private contributions of individual "microproviders" who use their Internet-connected wireless LANs (WLANs) to forward foreign traffic from/to nearby low-mobility clients. We have designed a practical WLAN aggregation scheme that: (1) Assumes that microproviders are selfish and do not trust each other and uses a secure incentive technique to encourage their contribution. (2) Assumes that clients and microproviders do not trust each other and protects their real-world identities by relying only on disposable opaque identifiers. (3) Is fully distributed and does not rely on any authority to resolve disputes or to control membership. (4) Uses standard hardware (PCs, WLAN access points, PDAs) and software we have developed for the main available platforms (Linux, Windows).