  Decentralization, in the form of mesh networking and blockchain, two
promising technologies, is coming to the telecommunications industry. Mesh
networking allows wider low cost Internet access with infrastructures built
from routers contributed by diverse owners, while blockchain enables
transparency and accountability for investments, revenue or other forms of
economic compensations from sharing of network traffic, content and services.
Crowdsourcing network coverage, combined with crowdfunding costs, can create
economically sustainable yet decentralized Internet access. This means every
participant can invest in resources, and pay or be paid for usage to recover
the costs of network devices and maintenance. While mesh networks and mesh
routing protocols enable self-organized networks that expand organically,
cryptocurrencies and smart contracts enable the economic coordination among
network providers and consumers. We explore and evaluate two existing
blockchain software stacks, Hyperledger Fabric (HLF) and Ethereum geth with
Proof of Authority (PoA) intended as a local lightweight distributed ledger,
deployed in a real city-wide production mesh network and also in laboratory
network. We quantify the performance, bottlenecks and identify the current
limitations and opportunities for improvement to serve locally the needs of
wireless mesh networks, without the privacy and economic cost of relying on
public blockchains.
