GPRP

GPRP, or Global Position Routing Protocol is an Internet Routing Protocol like IPv4 and IPv6, which uses the spatial position, as determined by GPS, of each host on the network to establish routes to any other host. It is intended to supplement, and ultimately replace traditional Internet Routing protocols. It requires the cooperation of many luminal-speed (such as radio or fiber optic) hosts to route packets in the most efficient way: a straight line.
The protocol consists of mainly the same concepts as IPv4, removing the abstraction layer of the routing table and IP address with a simpler model that attempts to send packets in as close to a straight line as possible. Since this change introduces physical constraints on the geometry of the network, special techniques are implemented to overcome problems such as dead zones.
History
The project began as a submission to a 2008 Google contest by Ted Coffman, with the goals of democratizing the Internet and doing away with the need for ISPs, which are vulnerable to regulation by world governments. When no interest was generated, the idea was submitted to the Reddit.com Internet community. With very little feedback on Reddit, nothing was done with the concept for over two years. In January 2011 Coffman decided to move forward with development due to the recent surge in open platform smart phones that have both Wi-Fi and GPS built right in, which Coffman sees as a perfect medium for a widespread implementation of GPRP.
As of January 2011, a GPRP C++ class is being developed and tested by Ted Coffman.
Comparison to IPv4
To maintain backward-compatibility with the current Internet framework, IPv4 gateways are discovered using similar techniques to DNS lookups.
Many of the traditional IPv4 concepts can be considered as their physical forms in GPRP:
* IP Address - Now the spatial coordinates of the host (as determined by GPS). If the host is stationary, the coordinates can be programmed in, akin to a static IP address.
* Subnet Mask - Now a sphere around the host, the size of which is determined by the most distant host that can be reached directly.
* Default Gateway - This concept is dropped completely, replaced with case-by-case routing using hosts that are as close to a straight line toward the destination as available.
* DHCP - This concept is dropped.
* Other traditional IPv4 methods not mentioned do not change.

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