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Chapter I: Stentor

Scene: Test Net — the system is being actively tested safely with controlled actors.

Every story has an origin, and the origin of telecommunications couldn’t be clearer. Humans learned to talk, and thus they could communicate with each other. When communication across longer distances was needed the first form of telecommunication was invented: shouting!

Among humanity’s biggest and oldest stories is Homer’s Iliad, an epic story in which we find Stentor, a man who had the voice of 50 men. The very first megaphone.

... And when they were come where the most and the bravest stood close thronging about mighty Diomedes, tamer of horses, in semblance like ravening lions or wild boars, whose is no weakling strength, there the goddess, white-armed Hera, stood and shouted in the likeness of great-hearted Stentor of the brazen voice, whose voice is as the voice of fifty other men...1

For the first chapter of our book, we honour spoken language in a way that emphasises how big the mission ahead of us is. Our epic mission is best embodied by Stentor.

Goals

The Stentor chapter will deliver connectivity, identity and financial infrastructure as the first subscribers join the World Mobile Chain.

Connectivity

Stentor is bringing affordable connectivity to regions where it was previously non-existent or unreliable.

Non-subscribers are provided with 30 minutes of customary guest access a day. This guest access is subject to modification in the future but currently serves as a promotion of the services that the World Mobile Chain provides to its subscribers.

Subscribers can buy different data bundles on a monthly payment or pay-as-you-go model.

Identity

Every subscriber will receive a self-sovereign identity, through the use of decentralised identities (DIDs).

Subscribers are responsible for handling their own identity. Only the subscriber, the entities they authorise, and the regulator (following local regulations and due process) will be able to access their personal data.

Basic Finance

For every subscriber, the World Mobile Chain creates a wallet. This wallet allows subscribers to use and pay for services built and offered on the World Mobile Chain. It also means they can create, send and receive Peer-to-Peer monetary transactions.

Subscriber Services

The Stentor chapter introduces the set of applications and services required for subscribers to join the World Mobile Chain.

Native Apps (Mobile & Desktop)

By installing World Mobile Chain's native app, subscribers create an automatic digital identity. (They’ll have the option to import their local identity if they have one.)

These native applications are the primary interface that subscribers use to seamlessly access services such as:

  • DID contact book
  • Device management
  • Wallet
  • Top-up
  • Peer-to-Peer transfers
  • Credentials recovery

DID Discovery Service

Self-sovereign identity systems also require identity discovery systems. This gives subscribers control over their discoverability parameters so that they can allow other subscribers to add them to their contact books, call or text.

The DID Discovery Service is the equivalent of a distributed contact book that puts the subscriber in control of their information.

DID Custody Service

One of the goals of World Mobile is to bring blockchain and privacy to subscribers in a way that they are not required to understand the technology under the hood.

To make it easier for subscribers to join the new self-sovereign world, we have built a service that acts as a bridge from the legacy username-password system to a new self-governed identity system.

Power subscribers and those with experience in cryptocurrency may understand the requirements for managing their private keys and already have the knowledge to keep their identity and account secure. Nevertheless, for subscribers new to blockchain and cryptocurrency, unfamiliarity with private keys may pose a security risk and create a barrier to entry. As such, World Mobile has created a seamless and secure custody service that will make the transition easier for new audiences.

Initial Architecture

This is a hybrid phase of the World Mobile Chain where the public settlement layer is on Cardano and the private network is centralised.

By laying down the backhaul network throughout territories, World Mobile is creating the first hubs of connectivity with World Mobile-operated AirNodes.

AirNodes

AirNodes will continue to be deployed throughout Zanzibar and other strategic locations. Every AirNode connects to a specific Backhaul point, operated by World Mobile.

Inside the Backhaul point, metering, quality monitoring, network optimisation and data segregation happens in a node called BreathNode.

This BreathNode is part of the Backhaul infrastructure and as such is operated by World Mobile and transparent to AirNode operators.

EarthNodes

A set of centralised and private instances of the EarthNode operating as the financial and identity settlement layer. In the first half of 2022, EarthNodes will begin to settle transactions on the Cardano blockchain.

AetherNode

The first AetherNode in Tanzania is established.

World Mobile Tanzania operates this node privately, and its goal is three-fold:

  1. To provide the bridge to the legacy telecommunication systems and incumbent operators.
  2. To store encrypted personal data so that only the subscriber can access it.
  3. To comply with local regulations and make sure that the regulator only has access to data after a publicly auditable due process.

In the Stentor chapter, the AetherNode is already serving the second and third purposes.

  1. From Homer's Iliad ↩

  2. The W3C's Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0 Proposed Recommendation ↩