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Future development

In the third phase, the 3air platform will become the go-to platform for ISPs. It will provide services such as identity, payment, community, governance, and marketing solutions. It will also potentially solve other issues that ISP providers face today.

The main benefits that 3air could provide for ISPs in the future are:

  • fraud prevention,
  • IoT platform (device connectivity),
  • service accessibility,
  • bandwidth distribution,
  • roaming capabilities.

With usability in mind, K3 TV boxes may be programmed to contain a 3air wallet app with staking and voting capabilities.

While the TV boxes are idle, they could run selected blockchain nodes, providing users with additional income.

Fraud prevention

Every telecom company faces fraudulent attempts to exploit security loopholes. Some users abuse telecommunications products and services to steal money from other customers or communication providers. There were over 25 million fraudulent call attempts in the UK in 2018 alone, costing millions of pounds (BICS, 2020). Scammers can hack into systems and enforce high charges that they redirect to themselves.

Mobile and landline phone or internet providers are vulnerable to this form of traffic pumping scheme. Different fraud techniques exist, including dial-through, International Revenue Sharing Fraud, the Wangiri fraud (One ring and cut), call forwarding fraud, and multiple transfer fraud.

Telecom Service Providers are particularly vulnerable to fraud as fraudsters can manipulate regulatory systems in ways that are difficult to detect, trace, and prosecute.

One of the newest fraud schemes is the Wholesale SIP trunk fraud, where fraudsters sell wholesale trunking services using stolen credentials. Others include toll-free fraud that can affect any business that uses a toll-free number, false answer supervision, location routing number fraud, toll bypass fraud, and inter/intrastate tariff bypass fraud.

Schemes conducted over the telephone include account takeover, telecom denial of service, and vishing.

These fraudulent schemes drain ISPs and mobile operators through chargebacks, direct financial damages, and service outages because of infrastructure overload and reputation damages. Scams erode trust and decrease the usability of data-driven networks in general.

Blockchain's unique properties are ideal for fraud prevention. Their distributed ledger is designed to be:

  • Trustless – no trustworthy intermediary is needed to prove the accuracy and truth of the stored information. Whatever is read from the ledger is considered the whole and only truth. The code provides trust.
  • Integral – there is a verifiable record of every transaction that has been made, and these records can never be altered.
  • Transparent – the blockchain ledger is public and can be read by every party with access to it. At the same time, the data retains a high level of privacy.
  • Secure – with the decentralized design, there is no single point of failure. It also means that no participant can add, delete or alter data.

With the combination of blockchain digital identities, service tokenization, and IoT, security reaches a new level, easily preventing many existing fraud methods.

How blockchain digital identities help users prevent users from being exploited?

Authentication services are a common point of failure for many customers. Still, the most common authentication system is the classical (archaic) username & password method. This method is no longer considered safe and is also inconvenient. Users typically use the same poorly secured passwords for multiple access points, making it easy for hackers to steal their identities. Attempts to improve security with 2, 3, or n-factor authentications are also burdensome.

Blockchain DIDs allow for verifiable and easy authentication by simply connecting your private wallet. In their current state, blockchain wallets are considered unhackable. The only drawback is the storage of private keys, which will become easier with time and general blockchain user education.

IoT platform

IoT platforms on the blockchain enable devices across the internet to send and read data from tamper-resistant records. Users can share these data seamlessly across different devices and users. Blockchain enables business partners and third-party contractors to share and access IoT data without central control and management. Every permissioned network member can verify transactions to prevent disputes and build trust.

There are many instances where ISPs can benefit from such a system, and fraud prevention is one that we already mentioned. Another example is third-party repair contractors that monitor devices for preventive maintenance and record their work directly on the blockchain. Also, operational records can be shared with government entities to verify compliance.

Service accessibility, tokenization and roaming

Each ISP provider or mobile operator needs to run its database of users and their acquired services. Exchanging the existing centralized databases with distributed blockchain ledgers offers additional value for users and providers.

Automating services, connectivity, and building trust without in-person authentication, authorization, third-party trustees, and accounting is a privilege only the blockchain provides.

With a public ledger, each party can verify previous transactions, leading to fewer customer service requests and expensive lawsuits.

Tokenizing services and bandwidth allow ISPs and mobile operators to always sell all their services and bandwidth on the open market, thereby maximizing income and managing usage spikes. Pricing is easier as the market can determine the best value on monthly or daily timeframes and intra-day lows and highs.

On the other hand, users get more control over their acquired services and receive fair pricing, which is impossible to achieve with current models. Users can share or resell unused services and bandwidth to friends or on secondary markets. Switching devices is also easy on the blockchain.

Blockchain and tokenization render additional roaming agreements obsolete, as bandwidth and other services can be acquired on the open market. IoT allows for permissionless usage of the infrastructure connected to the tokenized service. ISP providers can obtain such services and resell them to their customers within packages or on the open market.

It is a bold idea that can completely change how we view online services.

3air will set up a dedicated team of specialists to explore this area and develop a cutting-edge platform for online service providers.