It seems to me that the complex mesh network of commlinks and nodes within densely urban areas would provide near free wireless access to all participating parties. Anyone with a wireless device in 2070 could use this ubiquitous mesh network to bypass their Matrix Service Providers' infrastructures.

What's more, users could set up matrix peer-to-peer web browsing using the temporary browsing histories of those in the same mesh network. After you visit a site (say, The Best Page in the Universe) then you can seed that site to anyone in your mesh network. Only a few users would actually have to access the servers the web page or content is on and then share it with others in the mesh.

How would matrix service providers charge their customers for wireless access if their customers are the very infrastructure themselves?
How would web pages gauge their own popularity when peer-to-peer browsing enables users to share content amongst themselves after only a few visitors actually accessed the material through legitimate channels?

I'd just like to hear some opinions on this. If there have been similar threads, I can't find them. My search-fu sucks.

seconday services like call, mail, im routing/answering/buffering.

matrix site hotells. how many real life corps run their own webserver?

Because the corps provide the Matrix, and what you're talking about is a shared temporary internet files of a bunch of people. Even if you have a fairly large amount of people, you still will not be able to access any commcode that you punch in, because There's a very high chance it won't be in the shared network.

Also, because the average user's Signal rating is not that high, you'd need a lot of people within range of eachother to do this. The corps own all the signal towers. And you can't just use things like toasters as relays, unless you hack them. And not everyone can hack.

However, for specialised services, VPN's like this do exist by canon. For the most obvious example, there is Jackpoint. It's not a centralized system, it's a distribution of files and information amongst specific people - with the files stored elsewhere.

Finally, convenience. The books list monthly access fees at pretty cheap, and they come with a bunch of extras (even free agents!), so why would anyone bar hardcore nerd communities do this when they can just buy service from an MSP?

Also, web content, even today, is becoming more and more personalized. If you're using somebody else's cached version of a matrix site, you're getting their version of the site, not your version of the site.

and there dont seem to be much caching in the VR world.

The megas are not MSPs. They may own and run MSPs, but it's not their core business. They stand to gain massive efficiency benefits from a mesh networked society (well, universal wireless access, which requires mesh networking for better access guarantees), primarily due to their large retail divisions and employee information awareness. All the other benefits are trivialised by the economic impact of a 10% megacorp productivity increase.

The megas are the ones who get to choose what technology the big networks work on, and they decided that mesh networking was a good idea for them. Everyone gets to follow suit.


MSPs now sell you access to the wired portions of the network (which they can put access control on), and some conveniences when you switch 'link. If it weren't for the fact that the wired network contains awesome things they probably wouldn't be worth the price.

The issue with P2P document access is that P2P is never going to be a media darling. It's too heavily interwoven with the kind of people who need anonymity or, at least, indirection to avoid being prosecuted. It also needs a dramatically different access and adress model to whatever the public is used to using.

Yeah, VPNs were pretty much what I was thinking of I guess. I was thinking along the lines of torrent applications nowadays. Only a few people need buy a movie, album, or even roleplaying rulebook legitimately then put that content up for public access for everyone else. I'm sure a lot of content unique to the Matrix couldn't use the sort of shared matrix-caching I mentioned before, like VR social interaction sites or virtual gaming. I do take your point about personalized content too. That's definitely a damper one cache-sharing. Corps might dislike P2P, but that doesn't mean the largely Matrix savvy consumers of the Sixth World won't use those applications.

However, I do think that making calls and similar applications in an urban environment would provide a wide-reaching mesh network capable of bypassing main network routers like the Backbone Nexi mentioned in Unwired. Peripheral devices and rival companies' devices all route traffic along a mesh network (pg 54 Unwired) so long as they are set to Active mode. I'm just curious whether the corps can charge for superfluous infrastructure? I see the money-grubbing corps pulling stunts like preventing other corps' comms from getting their traffic routed through their networking electronics, forcing consumers in areas dominated by one MSP or brand of comm to switch to that company's product or else get crappy connectivity. That sounds more like the repressive megacorporations I'm familiar with. All this free data transfer doesn't

Maybe you're right Heath Robinson, maybe the corps cut their operations costs by allowing urban areas to route all their data along mesh networks they can't charge their customers for using. I even imagine most people being unaware of how little their MSP is actually providing them. Making local data requests should cost next to nothing. Maybe that's already factored into the MSP costs.

and for most purposes, such details dont give much to the game (except maybe theme).

if one had such level of detail then the players would have to track their exact telecom expenses, and the GM would have to map out where every msp is located and so on.

I don't know about that. A quick hardware check or software exploit on your new comm could bypass rival corp routing limitations.
And you could always just generalize MSPs. LA has mostly Horizon access, so Neonet ware gets shafted as if it was in a static zone (that IS the one with -1 to -3 modifiers, right?)

I don't think most hackers would have to worry with their modded hacking comms. It even seems that for a hacker urban mesh networks would provide him with a vast ocean of free wifi. Manipulating routing requests might even waylay distress call and Lonestar dispatcher notifying radio-cars of crimes in progress. Just send out rerouting requests to divert data before it gets to its intended recipient.

There's a couple of things I can think of that might be interesting to explore. Instant mesh-network-routing is quickly passed over in Unwired. Its implications aren't very thoroughly explored, I think. Maybe I'm wrong.

Actually, this is exactly how it works. (Unwired, p. 42 under 'Getting the Hook Up') MSPs in the 2070's no longer simply provide access (as your personal 'link generates part of the network they use, it's probably counted as a trade-off - otherwise, they might have to pay you for the use of your node), they, as the name says, provide users with matrix services (software, storage, database management, etc.).



I think the main reasons they don't do this is that the Corporate Court doesn't allow them to. I believe an open, neutral network was part of the Wireless Matrix Initiative.

As to 'why'... primarily because it's bad for business. As a mesh network, the wireless matrix relies on the individual user nodes as well as the backbone nexi to ensure network continuity and fast, reliable data routing. Blocking content from particular devices or certain sources would be counter-productive. Not only do you create vulnerabilities in the the network (hackers only have to write malicious code targeting one brand of device to affect a large portion of the network), and slowdown (your traffic can only pass through certain devices) but, more importantly, you keep your own content and services from reaching the widest possible consumer base (if you're blocking stuff, you competitors are blocking you, too). And there's also the matter of purchasing versus licensing. If people are buying their hardware from you, you no longer have the right to interfere with their use of it after the fact. If you want to try and sell a crippled product (the user knows they'll only be able to access Aztechnology-made media, say) or enforce a licensing-based model (they're not buying the hardware, only leasing it - so you can control it as you see fit), that's one thing - but market pressures will tend to favor the devices with the wider range of available content.




It is largely glossed-over, as far as fine technical details go (seeing as it's a make-believe technology, this is only to be expected). But it is explained pretty well, I thought. Data packets pick up ID tags from each node they pass through. And responses are given priority routing through the same nodes on the way back. The MSPs keep massive databases of registered and active device IDs, so if a given node in a sequence is out of range by the time the data returns, it just passes through the next available device in a given area and then on to the next node in sequence. But given the processing speeds they're dealing with, the likelihood that all of the devices in a given route would be unavailable at a given moment are slim enough (and node density is high enough) that this system works.

There might not been too many implications of this to explore, because it goes on to explain that all this routing business is happening on a level that the end-user (metahuman or otherwise) doesn't have access to. It's either inexcessable because that's just part of the protocol, it occurs too quickly for manipulations to be feasible, or because it's too fundamental to the operation of the whole process. It seems the most you can do to affect it is setting your commlink mode (hidden mode probably disables the routing function, for example).

IMO the corps have plenty to gain from providing cheap to free access of the Matrix 2.0 in the form of advertising and data mining. The Megas are dark and vile beasts ready to smite and smother the population just to make a quick buck on their mineral content but they still have to maintain a public face. The population needs to see that they've got their interests at heart and are working to make their lives easier, one way to do that and also be able to sleaze every chance to market and influence the wage-slaves is to provide cheap access to entertainment and shopping, hence MSP with low costs and seemingly wonderful bells ad whistles. I'd bet those free agents and programs are loaded with spyware and marketing filters that guide the unknowing slave to the sights that most benefit the provider they use. Even some of the costs of maintaining towers and relay stations is most likely offset by contracts with the local government who would be more than delighted to be able to uphold the idea that So-and-So has insured widespread matrix coverage to the population during the current administration at minimal cost to the tax-payer. It's a crooked world and even if bypassing or Spoofing an MSP is not that difficult in practice not many outside the Shadows are going to bother, there's to much to loose. The majority of people are too damn dependent on their AR lives and instantly gratifying globally connected communities to think twice about forking over a couple creds to pay for their MSP.

Yeah, "Getting the Hook Up" does mention a few things that MSP are useful for, but honestly messaging and data storage can be handled by any respectable free site just like e-mail accounts. And those accounts don't need you to register with your SIN, have a billing address, etc. IRL, my browser automatically logs into my GMail account when I start it up. In 2070 registering with a website for a free commcode/messaging service/email provider wouldn't be hard or unlikely. The only thing I see being useful would be the free mook they send you as they can get expensive.

I'm just trying to get my head around the technology here. I mean, these MSP have to make money somehow. The books mention how some corps have grabbed exclusive wireless infrastructure contracts for entire cities but that honestly doesn't amount to much with this mesh networking going on. In rural areas where meshing isn't viable, yeah the corps would have to provide cell sites and towers to route traffic. I've been thinking that MSPs were like cell phone service providers, which I guess they aren't.

I do like the idea of manipulating traffic routing. Tricking traffic (like Lonestar's communications, a target's matrix browsing, etc.) to getting routed through your node could provide you with an opportunity to use the Intercept Traffic action. Here's how I imagine this working:
Your target is walking down the sidewalk talking to his wife in AR. You need to nab him now without too much fuss. You activate a program like Sniffer (maybe a new program? probably not necessary...) to trick the mesh network around him to change its routing priorities discreetly. You effectively trick his comm into thinking that a path through your commlink or radio is the path of least resistance, so it seamlessly starts sending data through your hardware on it's way to the wife. From here you can monitor the traffic coming and going from your commlink (which would require a hardware exploit, perhaps?) and edit the call to end their conversation abruptly yet without any suspicion from the wife. Sure, you could use a jammer to knock every call on the block out of the air, but if you do it this way investigators will have a harder time pinpointing where Mr. Target was actually nabbed.

What do you guys think? Sounds kinda cool to me.

My friend made a setting years back with a mech-network society. One thing he included was a tag in all documents that state author, cost, and current owner. Every device has an owner, ensured by an ID number that was also a public key.

What happened in his setting is that any file that is copied automatically checks it's owner versus the owner of the device it's copying to. If the owner is the same, it copies fine, if it isn't, then it accesses the new owners online account, charges the cost, and directs it to the bank account of the author. If it's nice there will be a "do you want to pay button." You can't simply strip out this information, because it's built into the protocols.

Now a hacker can change all that data. The nice pirates just change the cost to zero. The nasty ones change themselves to the owner so the money comes to them, and then disable the buy check so it happens without your permission. Because of the nasty hackers, many people are reluctant to share files anymore.

I Think this kind of P2P file sharing could be used in SR without much adjustment.

laws anyone?

how about every service provider is by law required to have a SIN attached to a account?

oh, and that something is free just means that you will be carpeted by ads...

The economy of 2070 is different. This might seem like an obvious thing, but it seems like it's really difficult for people to put into practice. How is GMail being funded? Ad Revenues. What is it canon that every computer in SR has? A heuristic ad-blocker. What do you need to get tied into the CommCode system? Money. MSPs probably have to give you access to the CommCode system in the first place, else your calls aren't going to get through. A "free" MSP probably scans all your mail for juicy personal information and sells it to whoever wants it, and attempts to insert advertising into your mail. If you're willing to sell your privacy and pride for Matrix access, I'd say "feel free".

The Wireless infrastructure probably means that they're responsible for installing and maintaining enough wireless routers to provide a minimal level of basic Wireless access throughout the city. The city pays them, they do the work.


This is what the "Intercept Traffic" action does.

Mail or data access is very different than voice or video communication. People find dropped calls, 2 second lags in the call, out-of-sync voice and video and all the other stuff that you get with bad networks or fluctuating connections to be severely annoying. Being able to call someone requires that can locate their system right now, and to maintain the call requires that both sides traffic doesn't do bizarre stuff. This is likely to require a centralized system of some sort.

from what i recall reading, people are more tolerant of call quality issues these days then they where back in the days of landlines. its basically to common on a mobile phone...

Why? Calling cards and prepaid cell phones don't require any real information to buy or use. Neither do free e-mail accounts. Sure you might get some spam or ads, but who cares. I'm sure there'd be some that don't spy on you. Even Unwired says payment for a MSP account can be done via credstick, no credentials needed really, if it's certified cred.

And the whole rerouting idea wasn't just Intercept Traffic. For a normal intercept you have to know which node the traffic is going to be going through, hack it, and set the Sniffer bug. With this you could manipulate the wireless routing to bring traffic from an Access ID through your comm or a specific node so that you don't have to go looking for it. Then you can Intercept the traffic from a friendly node. It's like having you comm yell out "Hey [Access ID]! Send that data my way! Go through me and your data will get there faster than if you chose one of these other schmucks!"

Let me offer a couple of questions for musing.

• How much does it cost to create and maintain a dedicated communications infrastructure, as opposed to a modular system where all participating devices just make it happen?
• How much is marketing information worth? How much does it cost to gather such information actively, as opposed to plucking it out of the air? (Comment: the United States government does not need a warrant to "tap" your wireless communications.)
• How much does advertising cost? How much to directly market, as opposed to broadcasting an advertisement over a large area all at once?