• Author(s): @anthonyra
• Start Date: 9/30/2021
• Category: Technical
• Original HIP PR: HIP draft: Beacon/Witness Ratio - Witness Reward Limit #289
• Tracking Issue: this
• Discord channel: #hip-42-beacon-witness-ratio
• Status: In Discussion

Rendered view

https://github.com/helium/HIP/blob/master/0042-beacon-witness-ratio-witness-reward-limit.md

Summary

This proposal intends to enforce a hard limit on the number of witness receipts a hotspot is capable of claiming based on how well the hotspot is able to perform all functions related to Proof of Coverage (PoC). The two major componets to PoC, is the hotspots ability to beacon and witness. Beaconing is the mechanism used by the blockchain to determine if a hotspot has the capability to perform downlinks and also provides a means to determine coverage without the need for devices. Downlinks are integral for a LoRa based Internet of Things (IoT) network since they wouldn't be able to join if they couldn't receive downlinks for example.

The primary function of this proposal is to tie beacons to witnesses to ensure that setups benefit the network and not just the individual hotspot.

A secondary function of this proposal is to combat the most recent gaming associated to the following #poc-discussion on Discord.