> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.linkrmap.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Linkr is different

> Contributed hotspots, not coverage estimates.

Linkr is not another Wi-Fi finder app, a coverage map, or a social network for
hotspots. It is being built as infrastructure for connectivity: contributed by
participants, and accessible to anyone.

<Note>
  This page describes Linkr's approach and direction. For what is available right now, see
  [Product status](/docs/introduction/status).
</Note>

## Contributions, not estimates

Traditional coverage maps are based on models, projections, and carrier claims. They
show where connectivity *should* exist.

Linkr is built around where connectivity *does* exist. Hotspots in the beta app are real
contributions from real participants — if a hotspot is there, someone put it there. The
public map is a curated preview of what a populated map looks like, using a sample New
York City dataset.

## Community-powered, not centrally controlled

Linkr does not own the network. The network is the sum of its contributors.

Individuals share hotspots from their homes, offices, and devices. Organizations are
expected to deploy connectivity across campuses and venues as the network grows. Each
contribution adds to the whole.

This is not crowdsourcing data about someone else's network. It is people building the
network itself.

## Discovery first

Finding a network is the first useful step. Linkr's job today is to make contributed
hotspots discoverable: their location, network type, signal, security, and the
contributor's notes.

Automatic connection — where the app joins a network for you — is on the roadmap, not in
today's build. For now, Linkr shows you what exists and lets you decide.

## Comparison

| Traditional model  | Linkr                              |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------- |
| Coverage estimates | Contributed hotspots               |
| Provider-published | Community-powered                  |
| Static assumptions | A map that reflects contributions  |
| Discovery only     | Building toward discovery + access |

<Note>
  Linkr is what connectivity infrastructure looks like when it is built by the people who
  use it.
</Note>