So What is Amazon Sidewalk?

It has been in the news and all over social media – Amazon plans to install a mesh network known as Amazon Sidewalk over existing compatible devices. The plan is upsetting some people, and without being able to understand how the technology works, it makes sense why some see it as a problem.

Does Amazon Sidewalk Affect My Internet Speed?

What you may have read explains it pretty simply. Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that helps compatible devices work better by sharing 80kbps, which is a tiny amount of data compared to streaming a YouTube video. The only real impact that Sidewalk can have on your connection only applies if you have capped or limited access from your internet company.

For reference, in a typical YouTube video at 480p playback of 30 frames per second, you use about 264MB per hour, 720p (HD) videos use roughly 870MB per hour, and 1080p (Full HD) video playback uses around 1.65GB an hour. Every 1024KB makes up a single MB. A typical home with lots of devices connecting can stream several videos at a total of 25-50MB per second. If you do the math, your available hourly streaming capacity ranges from 1500MB to 3000MB per hour or about 1.5Gb to 3Gb per hour. 

Additionally, 500Mb is the capped amount of usage per month according to Amazon, so the usage is still less than what you have available to you in a single hour. If you have a specific limit for allowed bandwidth per month according to your company, 500Mb may be a big deal – it depends on your connection.

To spell it out with numbers, take a look at this. 

A bit is a single digit 1 bit per second, 1kps = 1000 (1024 to be exact) bits per second

80 kbps = 81,920 bits per second

1024 kpbs = 1 mbps

1024 mbps = 128 MBps

128 MBps = 0.128 GBps

YouTube (@480p) = 0.264GB per hour, (@720p) = 0.87GB per hour, (@1080p) = 1.65GB per hour.

Amazon Sidewalk = 80kbps = 0.01MB or 0.00001GB 

The amount that Amazon Sidewalk would be borrowing from your resources is a drop in the larger bucket of bandwidth going into your home. The amount of bandwidth needed for Amazon Sidewalk shouldn’t affect your personal streaming much at all. The only way it would is if you are already using your full capacity. The only way to reach the average household’s full capacity is to have every single device streaming video all at the same time.

Does Participating in Amazon Sidewalk Impact or Compromise My Internet Security?

The short explanation is they are using proprietary protocols and three layers of encryption to protect information traveling over Sidewalk. What exactly does that mean? All data traveling across any network is contained in packets. These packets are like little envelopes designed to communicate with specific protocols or languages. The internet is based on industry-standard protocols, and most devices communicate with the same protocols. Sidewalk has its own protocol and is only to be used by authorized devices compatible with that network. 

In other words, if you have a Google device, it won’t be able to access Sidewalk because they communicate in a different language. Allowing your Echo to access Sidewalk provides an access point for other devices to stay connected if there is an outage. The servers, or computers, used on Sidewalk are designed strictly for packet transportation and not reading the information contained in the packets. 

Think about the packets like envelopes going through the post office with mailing and return addresses on the outside. The post office doesn’t read your mail but transports the envelopes through the system. Now think about how the stamps for the post office are only usable by the post office. You can’t slap some USPS stamps on an envelope you’re sending through UPS or FedEx. They each have different proprietary postage requirements to get a package or envelope transported successfully through the system.

Packets travel from the starting point to the endpoint with five different required elements to be decrypted at the endpoint device. These are all proprietary to Sidewalk’s protocols, so that alone makes it difficult to hack. At the same time, Amazon claims security is a high priority. To keep your data safe, it cycles through protocol signatures several times in an hour to prevent others from being able to track anything that might get sent.

Should I Be Concerned About Sidewalk Being Enabled?

Consider the fact this is the first revision, and just about everyone in tech knows that the first revision always has the most bugs. Also, remember that wireless networks have been compromised before, and people like to get into things they shouldn’t, so there’s that. According to Amazon, the only devices remotely available over Sidewalk are enabled devices. You can always opt to keep one enabled while disabling the other. 

As an example, if you want to keep your Ring devices on Sidewalk but don’t want your Echo to take part, you can make that change. Keeping a compatible device enabled means you won’t lose access to it if there is a network problem at home. Some devices watch for things like smoke or flooding, so having these online at all times can be a good thing.

If you have an Echo dot, you may want to disable Sidewalk to ensure data across the dots isn’t compromised. You have control to decide if you're going to make the jump, and it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. Instead, you can determine what you’re comfortable with based on your personal needs.

Also, keep in mind that you can’t access your neighbor’s network to stream the latest UFC fight or anything like that. That’s not how it works. It means that your Ring devices will work enough to give you notifications but not enough to play a streaming video to your smartphone.

Participants also can’t tell where Sidewalk locations are. Think about how you can usually see different networks when you look at available wireless networks from your computer. You know they’re there, but you may not know where the signals are coming from. Amazon published a whitepaper going more in-depth about how everything works if you’re interested.

For more information on the latest technical gadgets and innovations, follow EMBARK Learning Center’s blog. To inquire about classes and certifications offered, give us a call at 512-291-3306 or send an email to info@embarklc.com to reach us in Round Rock, Texas.