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The replacement internet is already here

Earlier this week I wrote about the need to create an ad-hoc mesh-based networking system that could replace the internet.

This sort of system may become essential if we are to retain the right to free, unfettered speech in an era where age-gating and censorship of the existing internet is becoming rife.

Both the UK and Australian governments are implementing heavy-handed laws that will effectively force everyone to hand over personal ID or biometrics if they want to continue using most mainstream platforms without being treated like a child.

That is unacceptable and a huge intrusion on our right to privacy, hence the need for a network that is beyond the control of governments and which provides a safe, secure way to transfer personal data without the surveilance of "Big Brother".

Well yesterday I stumbled across a system that could be exactly what we're looking for.

The solution could well come in the form of a mesh-based network based on something called Reticulum Network.

The page I've linked to (above) is the official website of the project but if you find that a little dry you might want to spend a few minutes watching this YouTube video that is a little more digestible:

From what I've seen so far of this system it could be a near-perfect implementation of what I was discussing earlier this week.

It is a self-configuring mesh network with inbuilt encryption and an ability to function over almost any conceivable physical layer, providing it can deliver at least 5 bps (yes, that's *bits* per second).

I'm seriously thinking of setting up a node here using an old Raspberry Pi, simply because I can. It would be unlikely that such a node would see much traffic or perform any useful function right now but if enough people did this, eventually it would create a fantastic under-net that used the existing internet as its transport layer. If required, later on, the traditional internet connection could be replaced with an RF-based transport layer using one of the available license-free ISM bands such as 2.4GHz or even a digital ham radio link.

By creating the network now, ahead of time, and being ready to switch it over from existing TCP/IP connections to RF links, such a system would be ready to go if/when use of the regular Net became an intolerable imposition on our freedoms and privacy.

An RF-based system would also become invaluable in times of civil or other emergencies, when the traditional fibre-based network systems may well be knocked out by earthquake, flood or worse. Perhaps by painting the creation of such a system as an "emergency fallback" system, the government of the day might be less inclined to see it as a threat to their surveilance and control capabilities.

Whatever the case, we can't afford to be like frogs in a pan. To protect our freedoms and rights we must be anticipating change and mitigating the effects of that change with solutions that are already in place when the need becomes critical.

Take a look at this system and tell me what you think.

Carpe Diem folks!

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