Tales from the field - using Ethereum for a decentralized ISP in rural America
Duration: 00:26:49
Speaker: Deborah Simpier
Type: Breakout
Expertise: Beginner
Event: Devcon
Date: Jul 2026
My rural town of 1800 people suffered from lack of internet access. In this talk, I'll explore how we built a decentralized, crypto powered ISP to solve that problem. Homeowners, businesses and farmers own different components of the network and earn ethereum for forwarding bandwith, instead of using large towers and centrally held infrastructure, Everyday people buy eth on their phones and load it into their routers to pay for internet. Building a network in this agile and versatile way has allowed us to reach people more efficiently and provide cheaper and faster internet service. Which means Linda's flower farm is earning eth just for having a few antennas in her yard, and young Beatrice can do her homework at home now instead of the library.
