Internet.. but without internet

As an abstraction, P4P enables peers to communicate digitally with other peers, without having internet access. Often times the data will move slower, and sometimes jump between devices to reach it's end goal, yet once there's regular internet connectivity the connectivity jump back and function via the online network. P4P networks emerged around 2010, merging qualities of distributed ledgers (such as blockchain) with version control (such as git) and torrent-like data sharing. The term P4P is more recent; in the absence of a unified name for this particular family of protocols, the term Peer-4-Peer (P4P) emerged from a gathering at offline-place in Berlin in 2024, at an event which went by the same name (P4P). The event brought together P2P, offline-first and local-first enthusiasts (Z, Elfen 2024).

Underlying Ethos

The term "Peer-for-Peer" reflects the mutual-aid ethos inherent in these networks, a concept rooted in the natural law proposed by Kessler in 1880 and further developed by Kropotkin (1902). This ethos is reflected both in the architecture of the networks through peers connecting directly to other peers–without intermediaries or centralized control, and in support of one another–it's also exhibited in the licensing, as Open-Source and for the commons.
    

Qualities of P4P networks

• Local data synchronization: Data does not require the internet to synchronize and can instead be transferred via Bluetooth or mesh networks (local networks of routers). 
• Decentralized data storage: Primary data is stored on the user’s device, with secondary storage distributed across other nodes in the network, rather than centralized on a server. 
• Offline functionality: Applications remain fully operational with minimal loading times even without an internet connection, due to their local-first nature.
• Open Source: In line with the mutual-aid ethos, peer-for-peer networks are just that, built for the collective by the collective and licensed in line with collective purposes and values.
      

Impact

The potential impact of P4P networks are tremendous for global infrastructure both from a resilience perspective and in terms of values. Many of the P4P network designs offer inherent privacy and digital sovereignty for the individual nodes and networks. Due to their resilient qualities as distributed networks (Baran, 1964) and agnostic stance in relation to routing (physical hardware transport layer) they are also particularly suited for times of instability. P4P is not a path forward, but rather P4P is many paths forward for communication, with space for interoperable networks and the multitude of an ecosystem.

References

Elfen, Zenna. 2024. P4P: Steps Toward More Adaptive Internets:  Charting Open-Source, P2P and Local-First Networks. June 21. https://doi.org/10.17613/NAJ7D-6G984.

   
 Calvin, K., Dasgupta, D., Krinner, G., Mukherji, A., Thorne, P. W., Trisos, C., Romero, J., Aldunce, P., Barrett, K., Blanco, G., Cheung, W. W. L., Connors, S., Denton, F., Diongue-Niang, A., Dodman, D., Garschagen, M., Geden, O., Hayward, B., Jones, C., … Péan, C. (2023). IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. (First). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647 

 Baran, Paul. 1964. On Distributed Communications: I. Introduction to Distributed Communications Networks. RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/RM3420.