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Nikola Tesla famously envisioned ubiquitous energy supplied via a global network of towers. Although the inventor never realized this dream, one company is building on his legacy with a decentralized approach to Internet of Things (IoT), broadband, and telecommunications.
Recently, Chirp — a blockchain startup specializing in IoT that competes with the likes of Helium — installed its first master IoT gateway, known as the “Blackbird Master Gateway,” on a radio tower in the Höxter region of Germany. The installation, similar in many respects to Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower in Long Island, aims to allow thousands of validators to form a network for future IoT users.
Jaiz Anuar | Getty Images
This decentralized infrastructure to broadband, IoT, and telecommunications allows participants in the network to connect. In turn, they’re rewarded with Chirp’s native cryptocurrency.
Chirp’s first Master Gateway has been installed on top of the radio tower in Köterberg. It is ready to connect and validate thousands of Blackbird #miners, assuring security,QA tests and spoofing resistance for fast roll-out. Read more on https://t.co/ersQUoKOh0#cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/XtXhYW2cPN
— Chirp (@ChirpIoT) November 9, 2022
“Decentralization is our number one principle,” Chirp founder and CEO Timothy Kravchunovsky tells Entrepreneur Europe. “We are building the infrastructure for millions of users, and billions of potential devices, to connect.”
This approach differs from standard telecommunications because there is no central company, like Verizon or its competitors, controlling the network. The logic is that user data is therefore safer and no single company is profiting from it.
Those who want to participate in Chirp’s network can provide coverage and validation by installing an IoT antenna (the “Blackbird”) on their home or office that earns rewards in the company’s native cryptocurrency. All users form a decentralized infrastructure that connect back to the Blackbird towers like the one in Germany’s Höxter region.
Chirp has development gateways in five countries in Europe already, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, but is actively rolling out early-stage infrastructure in the Höxter, Paderborn, and Detmold regions of Germany.
“We believe in giving power to the end consumer,” adds Kravchunovsky. “Tesla’s vision is alive and well.”
