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What Would We Build If Cellular Started From Zero?
Episode 4541
Published 1 week, 5 days ago
Description
Daniel proposes a thought experiment: if we could rip out all cellular infrastructure and start from scratch with IP-native design, what would we build? This episode traces GSM's 1982 origins, the SIM's role as a portability hack for European roaming, and the IMEI's pre-PKI flaw. We break down why the radio layer is fine, the core network is fossilized, and how certificate-based identity could replace the whole legacy stack—if the coordination problem could ever be solved.