Verification surface
Signals you can trust—not screenshots
A Network Proof packages reachability, timing, and behavior into evidence verifiers can check against expected internet physics—without reading your private data.
Foundation
What is a Network Proof?
A Network Proof is a verifiable signal that shows a device is actively connected, reachable, and participating in the PoN network. It is designed to be cheap to produce on phones and expensive to forge at scale.
Catalog
Proof families
Different challenges stress different facets of honest participation. Names are product-facing; wire formats evolve with releases.
Connectivity Proof
Reachability and path stability under short probes.
Uptime Proof
Session continuity without unrealistic always-on claims.
Latency Proof
Responses that fit believable RTT distributions.
Bandwidth behavior
Coarse traffic shapes—not payload inspection.
Challenge response
Fresh, non-replayable answers to randomized checks.
Session continuity
Smooth handoffs across sleep, Wi‑Fi↔cell, and roaming.
Node reputation
Slow-moving trust built from history and corroboration.
Pipeline
Proof lifecycle
A tight loop keeps scores fresh and abuse windows small.
Step 1
Device joins network
Client negotiates capability and consent boundaries.
Step 2
Challenge is generated
Scheduler picks probes with diversity goals.
Step 3
Device responds
Client answers within timing and integrity constraints.
Step 4
Verifier checks response
Mesh corroboration where policy requires it.
Step 5
Score is updated
Rolling aggregates with caps and decay.
Step 6
Reward is calculated
Wallet-facing settlement follows policy modules.
Rules
Proof validity
If a proof cannot satisfy these constraints, it should not move economics.
- Timely: generated and checked inside defined windows
- Non-replayable: bound to session, nonce, or epoch
- Device-grounded: consistent with real handset behavior
- Behaviorally natural: avoids synthetic perfect scores
- Corroborated where configured: multi-verifier agreement
Impact
Why this matters
Network-based proofs let the protocol reward participation that strengthens connectivity maps and verifier confidence—instead of rewarding whoever bought the most hash silicon.
Go deeper on mechanics
Whitepaper and security pages carry versioned detail; this page frames what proof means in PoN language.