freifunk

The main goals of Freifunk are to build a large-scale free wireless Wi-Fi network that is decentralized, owned by those who run it and to support local communication. The initiative is based on the Picopeering Agreement.{{Cite web|url=https://www.picopeer.net/PPA-en.shtml|title=Picopeering Agreement v1.0|website=Picopeer.net|accessdate=7 August 2019}} In this agreement, participants agree upon a network that is free from discrimination, in the sense of net neutrality. Similar grassroots initiatives in Austria and in Switzerland are FunkFeuer and Openwireless.

Like many other free community-driven networks, Freifunk uses mesh technology to bring up ad hoc networks by interconnecting multiple Wireless LANs. In a Wi-Fi mobile ad hoc network, all routers connect to each other using special routing software. When a router fails, this software automatically calculates a new route to the destination. This software, the Freifunk firmware, is based on OpenWrt and other free software.

There are several different implementations of the firmware depending on the hardware and protocols local communities use. The first Wi-Fi ad hoc network was done in Georgia, USA in 1999 as demonstrated by Toh.{{Cite journal|title=Experimenting with an Ad Hoc Wireless Network on Campus: Insights and Experiences|first1=C.-K.|last1=Toh|first2=Richard|last2=Chen|first3=Minar|last3=Delwar|first4=Donald|last4=Allen|date=December 6, 2000|journal=SIGMETRICS Perform. Eval. Rev.|volume=28|issue=3|pages=21–29|doi=10.1145/377616.377622|s2cid=1486812 }} It was a six-node implementation running the Associativity-based routing protocol{{cite web |author1=C.K. Toh |title=Long-lived Ad Hoc Routing based on the Concept of Associativity |url=https://www.ietf.org/proceedings/45/I-D/draft-ietf-manet-longlived-adhoc-routing-00.txt |website=ietf.org |publisher=IETF MANET Working Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209224754/http://www3.ietf.org/proceedings/99jul/I-D/draft-ietf-manet-longlived-adhoc-routing-00.txt |archive-date=2008-02-09 |date=March 1999 |url-status=usurped}} on Linux kernel and WAVELAN WiFi. But ABR was a patented protocol. Following that experience, Freifunk worked on standard IETF protocols - the two common standard proposals are OLSR and B.A.T.M.A.N.{{cite web|url=http://freifunk.net/worum-geht-es/technik-der-community-netzwerke/|title=Technik der Community Netzwerke|website=Freifunk.net|accessdate=7 August 2019}}Wireless Networking in the Developing World. A practical guide to planning and building low-cost telecommunications infrastructure, Chapter 8: "Mesh Networking", pp. 134 The development of B.A.T.M.A.N. is driven by Freifunk activists on a volunteering basis.

File:Freifunk-Initiative in Berlin.jpg

One of the results of the BerLon workshop in October 2002 on free wireless community networks in Berlin and London was the Picopeering Agreement. This agreement about rationales of free networks describes how the transmission of other people's data is handled in a free network and has become a core agreement of the community. During the workshop, participants also agreed upon regular meetings in Berlin to build their own free wifi network. Ever since, there have been weekly meetings at c-base Hackerspace every Wednesday. At the same time, the German language site freifunk.net was started.

In September 2003, Freifunk activists founded the non-profit association Förderverein Freie Netzwerke e.V. to support free communication infrastructures.{{Cite web|url=https://foerderverein.freie-netzwerke.de/organisation/|title=Organisation|website=Foerderverein.frer-netzwerke.de|accessdate=7 August 2019}}

In the following years, the initiative became quite successful all over Germany, also because it became easier to install the Freifunk firmware on off-the-shelf wireless routers. There is a yearly Wireless Community Weekend taking place in Berlin, at c-base.

In 2012, the Berlin Freifunk community got a lot of media attention for a project called Freifunk Freedom Fighter Box. The project fights secondary liability: Secondary liability is the legal situation that makes the owners of open / non-encrypted wireless access points liable for what other users do over their internet connection (i.e. guilty until proven innocent), as outlined in the {{ill|Störerhaftung|de}} law, part of the {{ill|Telemediengesetz|de}} Act as last ratified in 2007.{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/694618/why-is-it-impossible-to-find-free-wi-fi-in-germany/|title=Why is it impossible to find free wi-fi in Germany?|first=Grace|last=Dobush|website=Qz.com|date=28 May 2016 |accessdate=7 August 2019}} The owners can thus be forced to pay for copyright infringements of third persons just because they opened their network to the public. This legal practice led to fear and uncertainty and made many people and businesses close their Internet and Wi-Fi access points, e.g. in cafés or in public locations. The Freifunk Freedom Fighter Box was a preconfigured access point that sent all data from the public network to Sweden over a VPN connection. In Sweden (as in most other countries), there is no secondary liability.{{Cite web|url=https://writing.jan.io/2012/07/26/freifunk-statt-angst.html|title=Freifunk Statt Angst|website=Writing.jan.io|accessdate=7 August 2019}} The situation regarding secondary liability was only clarified in 2016–18 as a result of several legal rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ),{{cite web | url=https://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-484/14 | title=CURIA - List of results }} and the Bundesgerichtshof{{cite web | url=https://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&Datum=Aktuell&nr=76605&linked=pm | title=Pressemitteilung Nr. 212/16 vom 24.11.2016 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.offenenetze.de/2018/07/30/bgh-dead-island-wie-der-bgh-zwar-die-abschaffung-der-stoererhaftung-bei-wlans-bestaetigt-ihr-grunduebel-aber-weiter-beibehaelt/ | title=BGH "Dead Island" – Wie der BGH zwar die Abschaffung der Störerhaftung (Bei WLANs) bestätigt, ihr Grundübel aber weiter beibehält | work=Offene Netze und Recht }} which drastically restricted the scope of secondary liability in Germany and therefore made it legally feasible to put up public Wi-Fi hotspots in Germany again.{{cite web | url=https://qz.com/1343460/the-unique-legal-concept-that-led-to-germanys-weird-wifi-laws | title=The unique legal concept that led to Germany's weird wifi laws | date=30 July 2018 }}

In 2013, the Hamburg Freifunk community set up a network of more than 300 nodes,{{Cite web|url=https://hamburg.freifunk.net/wo-wird-gefunkt|title=Zugangspunkte|website=Hamburg.freifunk.net|date=30 June 2013 |accessdate=7 August 2019}} using VPN tunnels to the Netherlands. Many new Freifunk communities emerged. In Berlin, the community is building a backbone network based on microwave transmission over longer distances. This project is funded by the local broadcasting corporation Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg and is still on-going in Germany.

• Netsukuku
• Mesh networking
• Guifi.net
• NYC Mesh

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• {{Official|https://www.freifunk.net}}
• {{youTube|DrXJ9_ezSy4|Video clip that explains the Freifunk idea}} or {{youTube|2Z12OjnPADA|Version in German with English subtitles}}
• [https://wiki.freifunk.net/Freifunk_Firmware Freifunk firmware information] in the Freifunk wiki (German only)
• [https://wiki.freifunk.net/Kategorie:English Freifunk wiki (English-language category)]
• [https://wndw.net/pdf/wndw3-en/wndw3-ebook.pdf Wireless Networking in the developing world. A practical guide to planning and building low-cost telecommunications infrastructure], 3rd edition, Feb. 2013

Category:Community networks

Category:Custom firmware

Category:Mesh networking

Category:Wireless