We all take WiFi access for granted; many of us expect internet access at any time and in any location. Yet, for more than half of the world’s population, internet connectivity is not a given. A 2017 U.N. report found that 48 percent of the globes 7.6 billion people use the internet. The usage and accessibility rates vary from country to country and continent to continent. Over 80% of Europe’s population is online, while only 21.8% of Africa’s population has access to the web.

There are even areas across the United States that are offline. In fact, the lack of internet access plagues people across several states and communities. It’s natural to imagine that anyone without internet access in 2018 must live in a rural farming community; however, there are 60 million urban Americans who cannot access or cannot afford to access the internet. A 2017 Recode article expounded on the country’s connectivity woes and highlighted that 23% of people in urban areas lack internet access, while 28% of people in rural areas lack internet access.

The shocking number of Americans without consistent access to the web highlights the inherent infrastructural issues of internet connectivity. Internet access is not cheap; in fact, estimates indicate that the average American family spends $60 each month on internet connection. $60 a month adds up to a yearly expenditure of $720, and for households hovering on or below the country’s poverty line of $25,100, that $720 can be significant.

How OPP Prioritizes Accessibility

As an organization committed to promoting accessibility across communities, the OPP Open WiFi platform eliminates users financial constraints. Rather than having to pay for individual access, the OPP infrastructure makes high-speed, secure, and free connectivity a reality for all internet users. In the past, other projects and organizations have attempted to offer free WiFi; however, those attempts came at a cost for users who were asked to share their personal information.

At OPP, we’ve figured out a way to finance global WiFi without penalizing users. Our platform relies on Hotspot Hosts — individuals willing to share their bandwidth with people in need of connectivity. 80% of smartphone owners do not use their entire allotted data bandwidth each month, this means that while there are people who lack connection (due to financial restraints), there are people who do not even come close to using up all of their bandwidth; the OPP platform has found a way to balance this inequality.

On the OPP platform, every host receives a reward for his or her participation via our proprietary form of cryptocurrency; hosts receive tokenized payments for the number of hours they open their unused data to the public. Hosts also receive additional crypto funds for allowing our advertising partners to send ads through the platform to connected devices. Through the utilization of third-party advertisers who are eager to put their brand names in front of web users, we can not only initiate free, secure WiFi access, but we can also incentivize individuals who already pay for internet services to share their untapped monthly data.

From pursuing degrees to applying for new jobs and managing personal medical and financial data, our world runs on the web. Those without consistent access are at a severe disadvantage. It is our goal to level this playing field and make internet accessibility a reality for all.