The Data Pool

What makes PopMedia possible is the Data Pool—a Citywide LAN network that links the Red world together in lieu of the old NET. Usually built and maintained by Ziggurat, each City has its own version of a Data Pool, requiring the user to set up an account in order to log on and use its facilities.
Data Pools are also limited with their LAN structure, a requirement in a world where rampant NET sabotage is the rule—a hardwired system just doesn't have the same flexibility.
Since the Data Pool is an open-ended database, anyone can readily drop new PopMedia programming into it, with new entries easily found by Agent search functions. Getting a new PopMedia download is as easy as clicking a link—and once you've loaded it into your Agent once, it'll keep downloading that media (or similar ones) until you say stop. PopMedia is also flexible and viral—since the Data Pool has integrated feedback, this means that it can track how many times a program is accessed and react accordingly.
A PopMedia program may start out only occupying one time slot, but as subscribers mount and word gets around, it may end up dominating a huge percentage of the overall possible bandwidth. This also means that competing shows often find themselves battling for bandwidth, with small outfits going toe-to-toe (and gun-to-gun) with the giant Mediacorps that still remain.