By: Double J
Amazon has announced the release of a new program that shares users’ internet bandwidth with their neighbors to create stronger connectivity.
(Amazon)
The new ‘Sidewalk‘ feature for Amazon devices aims to connect a mesh network of internet connections amongst communities. Amazon says,
“Amazon Sidewalk creates a low-bandwidth network with the help of Sidewalk Bridge devices including select Echo and Ring devices. These Bridge devices share a small portion of your internet bandwidth which is pooled together to provide these services to you and your neighbors. And when more neighbors participate, the network becomes even stronger.“
The company touts benefits including “peace of mind” by keeping your devices (like smart lights, doorbell cameras, and garage doors) connected, even when the strength of its wifi connection may be weak, by utilizing your neighbor’s connection. Of course, the company also claims the program is designed to protect your privacy.
(Amazon)
Amazon also says the network could allow users to locate their pets, but has not fully detailed how that would work. We assume that a smart collar would be able to connect to neighboring devices, allowing users to see an approximate location of where the smart collar is on a map. The company says the exact street address would not be seen.
Amazon says Sidewalk is not a replacement for a home wifi network, but supplemental for outside of homes where the signal may be weak. The company did say that total monthly data rates would be capped at 500MB and users would see an increase in their internet bill.
Amazon Sidewalk will be automatically enabled, but users will be allowed to turn off the feature in their Alexa app if they would not like to participate.
To read more Amazon Sidewalk, visit the link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Sidewalk/b?ie=UTF8&node=21328123011
