In our recent blog “Theta Network: More revenue for video platforms + more content for users” we discussed how integrating the Theta Network can immediately benefit video platforms and the viewers that use them. But as we near our mainnet launch on March 15th, and prepare to release our roadmap beyond mainnet into 2019 and beyond, we’d like to share part of our longer-term vision for the Theta Network.
While video delivery is the first target market of the Theta Network and our focus for first adopters, the Theta protocol can be generalized for any type of data delivery with a profile that lends itself to peer-to-peer sharing. Video game patches, OS updates, geo-location games that feature interaction with nearby users — any application that reaches concurrent users in close proximity can benefit from data being relayed on the Theta mesh network. Combined with the proliferation of powerful phones, tablets, and other smart devices, this will create robust decentralized edge networks that are transformative to data delivery. This won’t fully replace the centralized cloud; rather it will be a complement that can provide low-latency processing and content delivery for applications that require it. The rollout of consumer 5G networks in 2019 and 2020 will only accelerate this trend.
Public blockchains are also key to the development of these edge networks. The billions of devices interacting on the edge will not be part of a single network of a trusted devices, so there must be a way for them communicate securely and without pre-existing trust (i.e., a private network won’t cut it). The devices of these edge networks will also need a way to transact with each other, even if it’s in very small amounts (think of microtransactions as “tolls” for transferring data over these public networks). Transacting real value with non-trusted parties/devices again will necessitate a public blockchain. The answer is NOT for one company or government regulator to control the entire payment infrastructure of this IoT microtransaction economy — it must be public and transparent.
At Theta Labs, we are creating the first version of the content delivery and transactional layer of the coming edge networks. That will develop further as the Theta Network grows, but for now, back to getting our video platform partners ready for the Theta mainnet next month! And very soon we’ll release the first Theta wallet, which will be used to store your ERC20 Theta Tokens ahead of the mainnet token swap. Stay tuned for more details!
