The starting bid reflects the relative scale of network infrastructure required to operate connectivity within a Hex.
Two operational constraints are considered:
Coverage, which estimates the number of AirNodes that would typically be required to operate signal coverage within the Hex.
Capacity, which estimates the maximum number of concurrent users the network could be designed to support within that area, based on conservative technical assumptions.
The higher of these two infrastructure requirements is used.
The starting bid follows this formula:
Starting Bid = MAX (coverage-based node requirement, capacity-based node requirement) × AirNode Portal hardware cost × 0.005
Inputs include population estimates sourced from the most recent USA Census data and other publicly available datasets, as well as building density data used to classify areas as urban, suburban, or rural for network planning purposes. Conservative concurrency and performance assumptions are applied to ensure stable LTE-like performance during peak usage periods.
This formula exists solely to establish a neutral, programmatic starting bid based on infrastructure requirements. It does not represent a valuation, revenue estimate, or financial projection.