Free wireless network

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Free radio networks are WLAN -based radio networks that are not offered by commercial providers, but by private individuals, associations or similar organizations . Accordingly, the users are at the same time the operators of the computer networks , which, starting from simple home networks, can network houses, districts, villages or entire cities.

Idea and functionality

In a free wireless network, all users make their WLAN routers available for the other participants to transfer data. In return, users can also transfer data such as text, music and films via the internal network or chat, make phone calls and play online games together using services set up by participants in the network. Many participants also provide their Internet access and enable others to access the Internet. Free radio networks are do-it-yourself networks. Participants use special Linux distributions on their WLAN routers for the setup. Local groups then make the software adapted to their own needs available on their websites. In many villages and cities there are now groups and get-togethers where interested parties can meet.

Vision and background

Picopeering explains: The left and right participants are too far apart to connect directly with each other. Nevertheless, they can communicate with each other because the participant in the middle is within both ranges and can thus forward the data of the left participant to the right participant.

Initiatives that build free wireless networks are part of a global free infrastructure movement. Their vision is the spread of free networks, the democratization of the communication media and the promotion of local social structures. By networking entire city districts, villages and regions, the initiatives want to counteract the digital divide and build free, independent network structures. In these free networks, for example, license-free community radio, the transmission of local events, private file sharing networks and the common low-cost use of Internet access can become possible. The exchange in the free networks is not based on commercial interests, but on the voluntary give and take of each individual in the network. This idea was formulated in the Pico Peering Agreement .

The initial motivation to set up a free network is often the need to have inexpensive access to the Internet, especially in areas where DSL is not available. However, making this possible is not the main aim of the initiatives. Rather, they see the future of their efforts in the possibility of being able to connect to one another in free networks - without having to submit to the restrictions of commercial providers.

The spread of self-organized free networks is also an attempt to transfer the principle of free software to free “network commons”. In these, based on the medieval commons, a shared use of network resources and data that can be copied without loss should be organized. Volunteers therefore work on setting up their own networks, provide Internet access, offer information events or develop free and open software for free wireless networks. At the local level, many initiatives already represent an alternative to commercial network providers. These networks offer a public space in which free content , such as that of Wikipedia, can be distributed.

distribution

Excerpt from the Berlin Freifunk network
(as of January 1, 2007):
The red dots are the nodes. The lines represent the connections between the individual participants (the respective connection quality in blue). HNA means that this node also provides an external network (mostly the Internet).

The German-speaking Freifunk community is part of a worldwide movement to establish open and free systems, especially free software and free infrastructures. Some of this happens in large rural areas such as Djursland in Denmark . It was advanced in cities with non-broadband telecommunications infrastructure such as some areas in Berlin , Weimar , Leipzig , Rostock , Halle and Dresden .

Similar considerations are being made as part of the project of the non-profit organization “ One Laptop per Child ” in the development of the 100-dollar laptop . According to this, in developing and emerging countries in particular, inexpensive laptops, in combination with an integrated WLAN transmitter, should enable fully automatic networking of individual villages or municipalities. Countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Thailand and Uruguay have so far declared their participation in the project.

technology

A meshed network: The node on the right also provides Internet access to the others, and the node on the left a local radio

In free radio networks, several wireless access points are connected to one another and form an intranet , which can be connected to the Internet via an Internet provider , among other things . Free wireless networks mostly operate on the basis of mesh routing protocols as meshed , independently setting up and configuring ad hoc networks . Usually routers are used with installed firmware (e.g. the Freifunk firmware) that is based on OpenWrt and supports the OLSR or BATMAN mesh protocols . These protocols enable the participants in the network to network in large areas without their own broadband internet access. In addition, a new participant, a so-called mesh node , can become part of the existing network without great technical effort and thereby increase its range. Most projects try to build a free and alternative network infrastructure in addition to the existing network infrastructure of the large Internet service providers .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pico Peering Agreement v1.0 ( Memento from February 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Excerpt from the Freifunk-Community Berlin's Freifunk-Community .
  3. ↑ heise.de, January 4, 2007: The user interface for the 100 dollar laptop is ready