DAWN with Neil Chatterjee

Who is Neil Chatterjee?
Neil Chatterjee is the CEO and co-founder of Andrena, a wireless ISP that aims to disrupt traditional internet delivery by providing affordable, high-speed broadband through wireless infrastructure. After building Andrena, Neil saw the potential for a more transformative approach to internet access, which led to the founding of Dawn. 

What is Dawn?
Dawn is building a decentralized broadband network, where internet access is provided by the people rather than just telecom giants. Instead of relying on expensive centralized infrastructure, Dawn lets everyday households become part of a mesh network that delivers fast, reliable internet through secure, peer-to-peer connectivity.

How It Works

Mesh With Your Neighbors
Your home router becomes a node in a neighborhood mesh network. Rather than sharing your Wi-Fi password, Dawn routes encrypted data through participating homes, keeping everyone’s info private while improving speed and coverage.

Validate with a Browser Extension
Earn tokens by downloading a Chrome extension. As a validator, your device helps confirm that bandwidth and internet speeds are what the broadcaster claims they are, keeping the network honest and efficient. No advanced setup needed.

Why Dawn?

Save Money with Wholesale Access
Dawn aggregates community demand to purchase bandwidth at wholesale rates. Users can access fast internet at a fraction of the cost.

Earn Rewards
Households that share resources or validate network activity receive token rewards

Secure by Default
All data is encrypted. Neighbors help move your data, not read it.

Low Barrier to Entry
You don’t need a rack of servers. Just a router, and you're part of the network.

Leveraging the Crypto Community

Neil thinks one of the biggest strengths in crypto is being able to tap into a huge market of people who want to deploy infrastructure. This means you don’t need a traditional sales pipeline, you can rely on users to install hardware and help validate the network.

Vision:

Moving from wires to wireless to expand access and coverage, while significantly reducing cost.  

Like every house would have a toaster or fridge, Neil envisions each house would have a small black box. This would enable them to participate in the protocol by lending out their internet (AirBnB of Internet). 

Glossary

• ISP (Internet Service Provider): A company that sells internet access (e.g., Verizon, Comcast).
  

• Mesh Network: A group of devices that connect directly to each other to route data without relying on a central provider.
  

• Node: A device that contributes to Dawn’s network by sharing resources like bandwidth, storage, or compute.
  

• Validator: A participant who verifies that internet service (like speed or uptime) matches what’s being claimed to ensure quality and trust in the network.
  

• Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transmitted over a network in a set period; more bandwidth means faster internet.
  

• Token Rewards: Digital incentives earned by contributing to the network (e.g., sharing bandwidth, validating performance).
  

• Encrypted Data: Information encoded to prevent unauthorized access; ensures privacy while data moves through the mesh.
  

• Wholesale Bandwidth: Internet bought in bulk at lower rates, passed on to users for cost savings.