diff --git a/network/forward/forward.go b/network/forward/forward.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..28094f4d3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/network/forward/forward.go
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+package forward
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/log"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/network"
+)
+
+var (
+	NoMorePeers = errors.New("no more peers")
+)
+
+// Session encapsulates one single peer iteration query
+type Session struct {
+	kademlia        *network.KademliaLoadBalancer // kademlia backend
+	base            []byte                        // base address to use for iteration
+	id              int                           // id of session
+	capabilityIndex string                        // kademlia capabilityIndex in use
+	nextC           chan struct{}                 // triggered to output one single peer from iterator
+	getC            chan *network.Peer            // receives peer from iterator
+}
+
+// Id returns the session id
+func (s *Session) Id() int {
+	return s.id
+}
+
+// Get returns up to numPeers peers from the current position of the iterator
+// If no further peers are available a NoMorePeers error will be returned
+func (s *Session) Get(numPeers int) ([]*network.Peer, error) {
+	var result []*network.Peer
+	select {
+	case <-s.getC:
+		return result, NoMorePeers
+	default:
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < numPeers; i++ {
+		s.nextC <- struct{}{}
+		p, ok := <-s.getC
+		if !ok {
+			break
+		}
+		result = append(result, p)
+	}
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+// starts the iterator and blocks for request for next peer through Get()
+func (s *Session) load() error {
+	err := s.kademlia.EachBinFiltered(s.base, s.capabilityIndex, func(bin network.LBBin) bool {
+		for _, p := range bin.LBPeers {
+			_, ok := <-s.nextC
+			if !ok {
+				return false
+			}
+			s.getC <- p.Peer
+		}
+		return true
+	})
+	close(s.getC)
+	return err
+}
+
+// frees resources
+func (s *Session) destroy() {
+	close(s.nextC)
+}
+
+// SessionManager is the Session object factory
+type SessionManager struct {
+	kademlia *network.KademliaLoadBalancer // underlying kademlia backend
+	sessions map[int]*Session              // index of active sessions, mapped by session id
+	lastId   int                           // last assigned id for session, starts at 1 to make create from context easier
+	mu       sync.Mutex                    // protects sessions map
+}
+
+// NewSessionManager is the SessionManager constructor
+// Sessions created with the SessionManager will use the provided kademlia backend
+// TODO: argument should be network.KademliaBackend, but needs KademliaLoadBalancer to implement this
+func NewSessionManager(kademlia *network.KademliaLoadBalancer) *SessionManager {
+	return &SessionManager{
+		sessions: make(map[int]*Session),
+		kademlia: kademlia,
+	}
+}
+
+// New creates a new Session object with the given capabilityindex and base address
+// if capabilityIndex is empty, the global kademlia database will be used
+// if base is nil, the kademlia base address will be used as comparator for the iteration
+func (m *SessionManager) New(capabilityIndex string, base []byte) *Session {
+	s := &Session{
+		capabilityIndex: capabilityIndex,
+		kademlia:        m.kademlia,
+		nextC:           make(chan struct{}),
+		getC:            make(chan *network.Peer),
+	}
+	if base == nil {
+		s.base = m.kademlia.BaseAddr()
+	} else {
+		s.base = base
+	}
+	go s.load()
+	return m.add(s)
+}
+
+// Reap frees the Session object resources and removes it from the session index
+func (m *SessionManager) Reap(sessionId int) {
+	s, ok := m.sessions[sessionId]
+	if !ok {
+		return
+	}
+	s.destroy()
+}
+
+// ToContext creates a SessionContext from the existing Session matching the provided id
+// if the session does not exist an error is returned
+func (m *SessionManager) ToContext(id int) (*SessionContext, error) {
+	s, ok := m.sessions[id]
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("No such session %d", id)
+	}
+	return &SessionContext{
+		CapabilityIndex: s.capabilityIndex,
+		SessionId:       s.id,
+		Address:         s.base,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// FromContext retrieves or creates a Session from a provided context
+// If the context has the "id" value set, the corresponding Session is returned, or error if it does not exist
+// Otherwise, a new Session is created and returned, optionally with the "address" and/or "capability" values provided in the context
+func (m *SessionManager) FromContext(sctx *SessionContext) (*Session, error) {
+
+	sessionId, ok := sctx.Value("id").(int)
+	if ok {
+		s, ok := m.sessions[sessionId]
+		if !ok {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("No such session %d", sessionId)
+		}
+		return s, nil
+	}
+
+	addr, _ := sctx.Value("address").([]byte)
+	capabilityIndex, _ := sctx.Value("capability").(string)
+	return m.New(capabilityIndex, addr), nil
+}
+
+// adds a new session to the sessionmanager
+func (m *SessionManager) add(s *Session) *Session {
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
+	m.lastId++
+	log.Trace("adding session", "id", m.lastId)
+	s.id = m.lastId
+	m.sessions[m.lastId] = s
+	return s
+}
diff --git a/network/forward/forward_test.go b/network/forward/forward_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..70f84b8796
--- /dev/null
+++ b/network/forward/forward_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+package forward
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/log"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/network"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/network/capability"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/pot"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/testutil"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	testutil.Init()
+}
+
+// TestNew tests that the SessionManager constructor creates Session object with expected values
+func TestNew(t *testing.T) {
+	addr := make([]byte, 32)
+	addr[31] = 0x01
+	kadParams := network.NewKadParams()
+	kad := network.NewKademlia(addr, kadParams)
+	kadLB := network.NewKademliaLoadBalancer(kad, false)
+	defer kadLB.Stop()
+
+	mgr := NewSessionManager(kadLB)
+	fwdBase := mgr.New("", nil)
+	defer mgr.Reap(fwdBase.Id())
+	if !bytes.Equal(fwdBase.base, addr) {
+		t.Fatalf("base base; expected %x, got %x", addr, fwdBase.base)
+	}
+	if fwdBase.id != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("sessionId; expected %d, got %d", 1, fwdBase.id)
+	}
+
+	bytesNear := pot.NewAddressFromString("00000001")
+	capabilityIndex := "foo"
+	fwdExplicit := mgr.New(capabilityIndex, bytesNear)
+	if !bytes.Equal(fwdExplicit.base, bytesNear) {
+		t.Fatalf("base explicit; expected %x, got %x", bytesNear, fwdExplicit.base)
+	}
+	if fwdExplicit.id != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("sessionId; expected %d, got %d", 2, fwdExplicit.id)
+	}
+	if fwdExplicit.capabilityIndex != capabilityIndex {
+		t.Fatalf("capabilityindex, expected %s, got %s", capabilityIndex, fwdExplicit.capabilityIndex)
+	}
+	if len(mgr.sessions) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("sessions array; expected %d, got %d", 2, len(mgr.sessions))
+	}
+}
+
+// TestManagerContext tests that the SessionManager's context translations creates Session objects with expected values, and retrieves existing matching Session objects
+func TestManagerContext(t *testing.T) {
+	addr := make([]byte, 32)
+	addr[31] = 0x01
+	kadParams := network.NewKadParams()
+	kad := network.NewKademlia(addr, kadParams)
+	kadLB := network.NewKademliaLoadBalancer(kad, false)
+	defer kadLB.Stop()
+
+	mgr := NewSessionManager(kadLB)
+	fwdVoid := mgr.New("", nil) // id 1
+	defer mgr.Reap(fwdVoid.Id())
+	fwdOne := mgr.New("", nil) // id 2
+	defer mgr.Reap(fwdOne.Id())
+	if len(mgr.sessions) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("mgr session length; expected 2, got %d", len(mgr.sessions))
+	}
+	if mgr.sessions[2] != fwdOne {
+		t.Fatalf("fromcontext; expected %p, got %p", fwdOne, mgr.sessions[2])
+	}
+
+	newAddr := make([]byte, 32)
+	newAddr[31] = 0x02
+	fwdTwo := mgr.New("foo", newAddr) // id 3
+	defer mgr.Reap(fwdTwo.Id())
+	sctx, err := mgr.ToContext(3)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if fwdTwo.id != sctx.SessionId {
+		t.Fatalf("to context id; expected %d, got %d", fwdTwo.id, sctx.SessionId)
+	}
+	if fwdTwo.capabilityIndex != sctx.CapabilityIndex {
+		t.Fatalf("to context id; expected %s, got %s", fwdTwo.capabilityIndex, sctx.CapabilityIndex)
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(fwdTwo.base, sctx.Address) {
+		t.Fatalf("to context id; expected %x, got %x", fwdTwo.base, sctx.Address)
+	}
+
+	sctx = NewSessionContext("", nil)
+	sctx.SessionId = 3
+	fwdThree, err := mgr.FromContext(sctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if fwdThree != fwdTwo {
+		t.Fatalf("from new context; expected %p, got %p", fwdTwo, fwdThree)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestGet verifies that the synchronous Get method retrieves peers in the correct order
+func TestGet(t *testing.T) {
+	bytesOwn := pot.NewAddressFromString("00000000")
+	kadParams := network.NewKadParams()
+	kad := network.NewKademlia(bytesOwn, kadParams)
+	kadLB := network.NewKademliaLoadBalancer(kad, false)
+	defer kadLB.Stop()
+	cp := capability.NewCapability(4, 2)
+	kad.RegisterCapabilityIndex("foo", *cp)
+
+	bytesFar := pot.NewAddressFromString("10000000")
+	bytesNear := pot.NewAddressFromString("00000001")
+	addrFar := network.NewBzzAddr(bytesFar, []byte{})
+	addrNear := network.NewBzzAddr(bytesNear, []byte{})
+	addrFar.Capabilities.Add(cp)
+	addrNear.Capabilities.Add(cp)
+	peerFar := network.NewPeer(&network.BzzPeer{BzzAddr: addrFar}, kad)
+	peerNear := network.NewPeer(&network.BzzPeer{BzzAddr: addrNear}, kad)
+	kad.Register(addrFar)
+	kad.Register(addrNear)
+	kad.On(peerFar)
+	kad.On(peerNear)
+
+	mgr := NewSessionManager(kadLB)
+	fwd := mgr.New("foo", nil)
+	defer mgr.Reap(fwd.Id())
+	p, err := fwd.Get(1)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(p) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("get first count; expected 1, got %d", len(p))
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(p[0].Address(), bytesNear) {
+		t.Fatalf("get first address; expected %x, got %x", bytesNear, p[0].Address())
+	}
+
+	p, err = fwd.Get(1)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(p) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("get peers count; expected 1, got %d", len(p))
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(p[0].Address(), bytesFar) {
+		t.Fatalf("get second address; expected %x, got %x", bytesFar, p[0].Address())
+	}
+	log.Trace("peer", "peer", p)
+
+}
diff --git a/network/forward/types.go b/network/forward/types.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ec5a6597c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/network/forward/types.go
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+package forward
+
+import (
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/ethersphere/swarm/network"
+)
+
+var (
+	zeroTime = time.Unix(0, 0)
+)
+
+// SessionInterface provides an interface for an individual session object
+type SessionInterface interface {
+	Subscribe() <-chan *network.Peer
+	Get(numberOfPeers int) ([]*network.Peer, error)
+}
+
+// SessionContext is a context.Context that can be used to reference existing sessions or create new sessions
+type SessionContext struct {
+	CapabilityIndex string
+	SessionId       int
+	Address         []byte
+}
+
+// NewSessionContext creates a new SessionContext with the provided capabilityIndex and base address
+func NewSessionContext(capabilityIndex string, base []byte) *SessionContext {
+	return &SessionContext{
+		CapabilityIndex: capabilityIndex,
+		Address:         base,
+	}
+}
+
+// Deadline implements context.Context
+func (c *SessionContext) Deadline() (time.Time, bool) {
+	return zeroTime, false
+}
+
+// Done implements context.Context
+func (c *SessionContext) Done() <-chan struct{} {
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Err implements context.Context
+func (c *SessionContext) Err() error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Value implements context.Context
+func (c *SessionContext) Value(k interface{}) interface{} {
+	ks, ok := k.(string)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil
+	}
+	switch ks {
+	case "address":
+		if c.Address == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return c.Address
+	case "capability":
+		if c.CapabilityIndex == "" {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return c.CapabilityIndex
+	case "id":
+		return c.SessionId
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/network/kademlia_load_balancer.go b/network/kademlia_load_balancer.go
index a710554e60..35d8c44f33 100644
--- a/network/kademlia_load_balancer.go
+++ b/network/kademlia_load_balancer.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // KademliaBackend is the required interface of KademliaLoadBalancer.
+// TODO: Consider if KademliaLoadBalancer itself should implement KademliaBackend
 type KademliaBackend interface {
 	SubscribeToPeerChanges() *pubsubchannel.Subscription
 	BaseAddr() []byte
@@ -124,6 +125,11 @@ func (klb *KademliaLoadBalancer) EachBinDesc(base []byte, consumeBin LBBinConsum
 	})
 }
 
+// BaseAddr returns the base address of the underlying kademlia backend
+func (klb *KademliaLoadBalancer) BaseAddr() []byte {
+	return klb.kademlia.BaseAddr()
+}
+
 func (klb *KademliaLoadBalancer) peerBinToPeerList(bin *PeerBin) []LBPeer {
 	resources := make([]resourceusestats.Resource, bin.Size)
 	var i int
diff --git a/pot/address.go b/pot/address.go
index cc88c35d37..1ec916c2d5 100644
--- a/pot/address.go
+++ b/pot/address.go
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ func (a Address) Bytes() []byte {
 	return a[:]
 }
 
+func (a Address) Address() []byte {
+	return a[:]
+}
+
 // Distance returns the distance between address x and address y as a (comparable) big integer using the distance metric defined in the swarm specification
 // Fails if not all addresses are of equal length
 func Distance(x, y []byte) (*big.Int, error) {