...alternative Internet...?

 Kim Dotcom in court on extradition charges on Sept. 21, 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Kim Dotcom, the creator of notorious file hosting service MegaUpload.com, took time from fighting extradition charges in New Zealand on Thursday to address the Sydney startup conference SydStart via video link. The pitch? His coming alternative Internet, MegaNet.

Wanted in the U.S. under criminal copyright violation charges, Dotcom said that despite Edward Snowden's revelations about NSA spying opening up "the eyes of the world" to government intrusions on our privacy, little would change without action.

Two years ago, Dotcom started work on his solution, which he announced in June: A new Internet called MegaNet.

On Thursday, he offered a few more details about the upcoming project, including its structure and privacy protections.

Importantly, Dotcom said there will be no IP addresses on MegaNet — the unique codes that identify a particular device online — meaning the server cannot be easily hacked. Rather, it will use a new, faster form of blockchain to exchange data, he explained, referring to the distributed ledger system best known for being behind Bitcoin.

Creating a decentralised Internet means that it will be "from the people, for the people," he said.

Creating a decentralised Internet means that it will be "from the people, for the people," he said.

Speaking to media after the event, Dotcom confirmed MegaNet would initially rely on the existing physical Internet infrastructure as a "dumb pipe." However, he said he and his team are working on creating a new layer of encryption that will run through all digital communications, no matter which tool is used.

He maintained that the type of encryption MegaNet will use will be very powerful, without being specific. "We are going to use very long keys, systems that will not be reverse engineered or cracked by any supercomputer," he said. Doubts about the security of other Dotcom projects, such as MegaChat, have been raised in the past.

Dotcom proposed that our smartphones become a key part of MegaNet. If a user installs the MegaNet app on their smartphone in the future, they could allow MegaNet to use their smartphone's processing power and storage when it's idle. Dotcom said bandwidth would only be accessed if the phone was on Wi-Fi, so the user is not charged for overage by their service provider.

"If you have 100 million smartphones that have the MegaNet app installed, we'll have more online storage capacity, bandwidth and calculating power than the top 10 largest websites in the world combined," he claimed.

"Over the years with these new devices and capacity, especially mobile bandwidth capacity, there will be no limitations.

"Over the years with these new devices and capacity, especially mobile bandwidth capacity, there will be no limitations."

Dotcom said MegaNet will be launched in beta in one year, and he predicted it would have 100 million users within the first year. Despite that, he said, it might take even a decade before mass connectivity occurs on Meganet.

To fund the project, Dotcom said the company will be conducting a seed round in January. Once the prototype is ready, he will also undertake a massive equity crowdfunding campaign.

"I hope this will be one of many approaches to try and stop governments from taking control of this beautiful thing that's the Internet," he added.