Why I’ll Opt Out of Amazon’s Bandwidth Collective
Amazon Sidewalk drafts your hardware into a low-bandwidth, mesh network army
Next to my desk, I have my very first Amazon Echo. The almost foot-tall cylinder bears little resemblance to the current fourth-gen fabric-covered ball design. Even so, Amazon is conscripting my smart speaker, the latest models, and all Echoes in between into its long-gestating, neighbor-created, low-bandwidth mesh network: Sidewalk.
It’s been almost two years since Amazon announced the 900MHz network intended to bridge the gap between short-range Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and more powerful long-range connectivity options like LTE and 5G. Back then, I wasn’t entirely sure I understood Amazon’s plan. I like the idea of ubiquitous, low-energy connectivity for smart home devices in and around the home and was intrigued by the concept of Amazon Fetch, a dog collar that could connect with the network and help you find your lost dog even if your dog ran away from home.
