More and more people are single-handedly installing and maintaining free networks. Every user in the free wireless network provides his or her wireless LAN router for data transfer to other participants. In return, he or she can also transmits data, such as text, music and movies through a free internal network or use services setup by participants to chat, call or play online games. We use mesh networks.

Umbrella Organisation

We act as umbrella organisation for other wireless communities like Ninux, qaul.net, Guifi.net or HUBS and communites developing software we extensivly use like OpenWRT, OLSR, B.A.T.M.A.N or retroshare.

Local communities provide software adapted to their own needs and then on their websites. There are more and more free wireless groups that meet regularly access in villages and cities.

Hardware and Software

Most devices in our networks are routers for home use. They should run with OpenWRT. In our local communities there are a lot of different approaches for different routing protocols, monitoring systems and map solutions. OpenWRT as OS for routers and OLSR, B.A.T.M.A.N and Babel as routing daemons are only a few examples of software developed together with freifunk. You can find a great variety of topics where you can go on with wireless communities. We're looking for people working on new hardware drivers, improving routing protocols, developing network monitoring tools and user interface topics on the web interfaces, helping us with new features and tools to organize decentralized communities.

Common freifunk goals

• Educating and creating awareness on the subject of communication and freedom of information
• Reducing the digital divide
• Unhindered distribution of knowledge and resources
• Empowering people to build and operate their own networks
• Promote and support existing and new social structures

As we are decentralized there are some challenges, e.g. to get and show information about communities, working together with all those communties.