AREDN vs community Wi-Fi mesh

AREDN is a licensed amateur-radio data mesh; NYC Mesh, Guifi.net and Freifunk are public-access community networks. Compared.

At a glance

	AREDN	Community Wi-Fi mesh (NYC Mesh, Guifi.net, Freifunk)
Purpose	Firmware for a high-speed data mesh on amateur-allocated spectrum, for emergency and amateur data	Community-owned networks that provide internet access to members
Licence	Amateur licence required; the docs put compliance with your country's amateur licence requirements on the operator	Licence-free 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi; no amateur licence
Bands in the docs	900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz (US amateur allocations; UK applicability not confirmed)	Licence-exempt 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi
Encryption	Amateur rules prohibit messages encoded to obscure their meaning (US rule 47 CFR 97.113(a)(4))	No restriction from radio rules; operators and users can use VPN or HTTPS
Internet access	Depends: AREDN's docs say internet over the mesh is usually not desirable, "Mesh to WAN" is off by default, and amateur rules restrict content; WireGuard tunnels link separate meshes and encrypt only the internet leg	Yes: NYC Mesh via transit and exchange links, Guifi.net via CATNIX peering, Freifunk via VPN to gateways
Hardware	Repurposed Ubiquiti and MikroTik 802.11ac gear (for example SXTsq 5ac, NanoStation 5ac, LiteBeam ac, hAP ac3) on OpenWrt-based firmware	NYC Mesh: directional rooftop antennas; Freifunk: OpenWrt-based firmware (Gluon)
Routing	Not confirmed from pages we fetched	NYC Mesh: OSPF internally, BGP outward; Freifunk: B.A.T.M.A.N. or OLSR
Size (29 Oct 2026)	Map: 2,330 nodes seen in 24 hours, 2,550 in 7 days; 46 in a UK-and-Ireland box	NYC Mesh 1,222 active records; Freifunk about 41,000 self-reported nodes, mixed age; Guifi.net more than 37,000 as of December 2021
Cost	Hardware plus licence; hardware prices and UK licence cost not established	NYC Mesh suggests about $290 for a professional install; Freifunk is a supported router flashed with community firmware
Governance	Non-profit (AREDN is a trademark of Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network, Inc.)	NYC Mesh 501(c)(3) with Network Commons License; Guifi.net foundation with Wireless Commons License; Freifunk decentralised local groups

Counts are not like-for-like; see find a local mesh for definitions.

Key differences

Licensed hobby network versus public-access ISP

Amateur spectrum lets AREDN use different bands and, under the rules its docs are written for, more power, but amateur rules forbid obscuring the meaning of messages by encryption and restrict what traffic is allowed. Unlicensed Wi-Fi meshes are bound by Wi-Fi band and power limits but can carry anything, including encrypted public traffic. The encryption point is also made in privacy and encryption; the UK equivalent is clause 19 of Ofcom's amateur licence booklet (OFW611), which bars encryption that obscures meaning, with exceptions.

Who it is for

AREDN is built for amateur operators and emergency-communications use. Community Wi-Fi meshes aim to bring ordinary neighbours online, usually with volunteer help for rooftop installs. NYC Mesh says it does not monitor, collect, store or block user data; Freifunk has historically routed traffic out through VPN gateways to limit operator liability.

Routing

NYC Mesh runs OSPF internally and BGP to the internet. Freifunk typically uses B.A.T.M.A.N. or OLSR on OpenWrt-based firmware. We did not confirm the AREDN routing protocol on any page we fetched. See how mesh routing works.

In the UK

Operating AREDN in the UK needs an Ofcom amateur licence. The licence booklet (OFW611) restricts commercial use (clause 4) and gateways to non-amateur networks (clause 14); which class, which bands and what power AREDN may use we did not research. Our map snapshot shows only 46 AREDN nodes in a UK-and-Ireland box, so expect to build rather than join. See AREDN.

Community Wi-Fi meshes in the UK would follow the wireless access rows of Ofcom's IR 2030, which lists separate rows for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wideband data devices; check those rows for exact limits. We found no UK group comparable to NYC Mesh, Guifi.net or Freifunk, and the Freifunk directory lists no UK communities. See join a community Wi-Fi mesh.

Which should you choose?

You hold, or will get, an amateur licence and want fixed-site emergency data links: AREDN.
You want ordinary internet access through a community, and one exists near you: NYC Mesh, Guifi.net or Freifunk, subject to location.
You want resilient messaging rather than data links: a LoRa mesh. See which mesh is right for you.

FAQ

Do I need a licence to run AREDN in the UK?

Yes, an amateur radio licence. We did not research which class and bands apply to AREDN hardware, so read Ofcom's current amateur licence terms (booklet OFW611).

Can AREDN give me home internet?

It depends. AREDN's documentation says internet traffic over the mesh is usually not desirable, and the "Mesh to WAN" setting is off by default. Amateur rules also restrict what you may send, and a gateway to a non-amateur network is limited to 5 W e.r.p. under OFW611 clause 14. Treat it as an amateur data network, not an ISP.

Can I encrypt traffic on AREDN?

Under the US rule its docs are written for, no: 47 CFR 97.113(a)(4) prohibits messages encoded to obscure their meaning. In the UK, Ofcom's OFW611 clause 19 says transmissions must not be encrypted to obscure their meaning, with exceptions for satellite control and for emergency or user-service use.

Is there a community Wi-Fi mesh in the UK?

We found none in our research. See find a local mesh.