Do Mobile Service Providers Have a Role to Play in the Decentralized Web?

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By Dimitris Mavrakis | 2Q 2018 | IN-5092

When the World Wide Web was conceived, it was designed as a distributed, decentralized network of information nodes, where everyone could host a website to share information. The concept of Web 2.0 introduced interactive features on the existing web domain, where users could interact with web pages as opposed to the information being one-way. On the other hand, the relatively recent dominance of Amazon, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and many other walled gardens has, in a way, centralized the gathering of information and social interaction within these walled gardens, each with its own business priority: Amazon for retail, Facebook and Google for advertisements, and LinkedIn for recruitment. This means that the user experience, data ownership, and control are now under the jurisdiction of corporations, and this may lead to unknown side effects, as illustrated by the most recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, where Facebook data was used by the latter company to influence elections in the United States.

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Centralization and Decentralization of the Web

NEWS


When the World Wide Web was conceived, it was designed as a distributed, decentralized network of information nodes, where everyone could host a website to share information. The concept of Web 2.0 introduced interactive features on the existing web domain, where users could interact with web pages as opposed to the information being one-way. On the other hand, the relatively recent dominance of Amazon, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and many other walled gardens has, in a way, centralized the gathering of information and social interaction within these walled gardens, each with its own business priority: Amazon for retail, Facebook and Google for advertisements, and LinkedIn for recruitment. This means that the user experience, data ownership, and control are now under the jurisdiction of corporations, and this may lead to unknown side effects, as illustrated by the most recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, where Facebook data was used by the latter company to influence elections in the United States.

There is a growing, albeit embryonic, movement toward the decentralization of the Web, led by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. This concept is described as decentralized information where even the web browser can be the central gathering point for end-user data, providing true data ownership and improved privacy. On the other hand, critics argue that such a distributed concept would hamper social interaction and could not have led to the information availability and social revolution Google, Facebook, and others helped create. Nevertheless, the latest news indicates that privacy is becoming a major focal point for end users, and the time may be right for the decentralized Web to come of age.

Decentralized Web Initiatives

IMPACT


As of 2018, there are several initiatives targeting the decentralization of the Web, but as expected, they are nowhere near meaningful deployment or mass market rollout. The decentralized Web initiatives are currently limited to tech-savvy user trials where their inventors and respective open source communities are trying to understand the implications of these initiatives and how they may affect end user behavior. Initiatives include:

  • InterPlanetary File System (IPFS): A planet-wide network of content-addressable, peer-to-peer information exchange nodes. It was conceived in 2014, following the success of Bitcoin, and can be used (but not necessarily) with blockchain to share content between users. Formal specifications are being developed in GitHub.
  • Solid Project: An MIT project, led by Tim Berners-Lee with its name derived from Social Linked Data. It aims to create a set of conventions and protocols for building decentralized Web applications. It is also in early stages, developing its set of protocols and technologies.
  • MaidSafe: Claiming to be the world’s first autonomous network, MaidSafe is essentially a blockchain-based storage solution that uses smart contracts and incentivizes the provision of network resources by awarding Safecoin to nodes. It is also in the very early stages of development and deployment.

There are also many other initiatives being discussed, some using blockchain, but all are far from being a valid replacement for centralized Web services. The biggest question remains: if the likes of Facebook and Google are not suitable to manage an online (or even physical) identity, is there a more suitable set of companies to do so?

Mobile Service Providers Are Suitable Identity Providers

RECOMMENDATIONS


The decentralization initiatives outlined above represent great ideas and potential for the future, but are currently nascent and cannot be deployed to the mass market. On the other hand, a growing volume of users wants to move away from the grasp of Facebook, Google, and others, thus creating a vacuum in the market for identity management. This is where mobile service providers may have an opportunity and there are several reasons for this: they operate on a nationwide, rather than on a global level, and have an existing, paid-for relationship with end users. Their priority is to maintain that relationship and manage identity as a value-add, rather than exploit user data for marketing and an advertisement-based business model. Also, despite their shortcomings and the need to transform their culture, mobile service providers are most often trusted parties and operate carrier-grade, thus safer networks compared to the Web domain. This is certainly the case with telco databases (HLRs or HSSs) that hold end-user data.

This is currently a concept, but mobile service providers have been trying to find a way to manage identity for many years. A potential identity service by mobile service providers could bridge the two extremes, offering better data ownership and privacy, but at the same time, not requiring a radical restructuring of the Web and end-user behavior. It is also a natural fit for mobile service providers, in what we call UnTelco: telco business opportunities beyond connectivity.

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