AREDN

Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network: a high-speed IP mesh on amateur radio spectrum

Depends active

Updated 29 Oct 2026

Internet traffic	Depends. AREDN's documentation says internet traffic over the mesh is usually not desirable, and the "Mesh to WAN" node setting is off by default. Amateur rules restrict what may be sent, so treat it as an amateur data and emergency network rather than an ISP. WireGuard tunnels link separate meshes over the internet and encrypt only the internet leg.
Node count	2,550 nodes seen in the last 7 days on the self-reported AREDN world map (as of 29 Oct 2026, source)
Geography	Mainly the United States, with Canada, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. The map holds 46 nodes in a box covering the UK and Ireland.
Regions	United States, Canada, Europe, Australia
Tech	802.11 radios on repurposed Ubiquiti and MikroTik hardware OpenWrt-based firmware 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz amateur allocations Optional tunnels between meshes over the internet
Typical cost	A licensed operator plus compatible radios. The documentation recommends 802.11ac hardware such as the MikroTik SXTsq 5ac, Ubiquiti NanoStation 5ac and LiteBeam ac; we did not establish prices.
Bandwidth	Much higher than LoRa, as it uses 802.11 radios, but we found no sourced throughput figures. Link speed depends on band, distance and line of sight.
Legal	An amateur radio licence is required (FCC Part 97 in the US; a UK amateur licence in the UK). Amateur rules prohibit messages encoded to obscure their meaning (47 CFR 97.113(a)(4) in the US), so traffic cannot be encrypted for that purpose. Check the rules of your own licence before connecting anything else to the mesh.
Governance	Volunteer project run by amateur radio operators. The firmware is developed openly on GitHub.
UK notes	You need a UK amateur radio licence. Nodes are scarce: 46 on the world map in a box covering the UK and Ireland on 29 October 2026, so a UK reader may have to start a mesh rather than join one.
Links	Website Documentation Downloads World map GitHub AREDN documentation: node administration Ofcom: Amateur Radio licence conditions booklet (OFW611)

How it works

AREDN stands for Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network. It is firmware for building a high-speed data mesh on spectrum allocated to the amateur service. It is OpenWrt-based and runs on 802.11 radios, repurposed Ubiquiti and MikroTik hardware. The documentation recommends 802.11ac devices such as the MikroTik SXTsq 5ac, Ubiquiti NanoStation 5ac, LiteBeam ac and the hAP ac3.

The documentation covers the 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands. Nodes can also tunnel over the internet to link separate meshes. We did not confirm the routing protocol on any page we fetched.

How to join

Hold an amateur radio licence. This is mandatory. In the US the governing rules are FCC Part 97. In the UK you need a UK amateur licence.
Read the beginner guide in the documentation.
Check the world map for nodes near you. If there are none, you will be building the first.
Buy supported hardware and download firmware from the project's downloads site.
Flash it and configure the node by following the beginner guide, then aim your antenna at a neighbouring node.

What it realistically gives you

A high-bandwidth IP network compared with LoRa, at amateur and emergency-communications scale. We found no sourced throughput figures: speed depends on band, distance and line of sight.

AREDN can route internet traffic, but its documentation says this is usually not desirable. The node setting that lets other mesh devices use your internet connection ("Mesh to WAN") is off by default, and anything sent over the radio must comply with FCC Part 97 (in the UK, the Ofcom amateur licence). WireGuard tunnels, which link separate meshes over the internet, encrypt only the internet leg, so no encrypted traffic goes over radio. Treat AREDN as an amateur data network, not an ISP.

The map showed 2,550 nodes with a last-seen time in the previous 7 days on 29 October 2026 (2,330 in the last 24 hours). The map is self-reported and already prunes old nodes. A box covering the UK and Ireland holds 46 of them.

Caveats

The UK has very few nodes. Expect to build, not join.
Hardware prices are not stated in the documentation we read, and we did not establish them.
You are responsible for your own licensing and for who uses your node.

Legal

An amateur radio licence is required. Amateur rules prohibit messages encoded to obscure their meaning (47 CFR 97.113(a)(4) in the US), so you may not use encryption on amateur frequencies to hide content. In the UK, the Ofcom amateur licence (booklet OFW611, February 2024) allows equipment to be used only for self-training or as a leisure activity, "not for commercial purposes of any kind" (clause 4). Transmissions must be addressed to amateur stations and must not be encrypted to obscure their meaning, with exceptions for satellite control and for emergency or user-service use (clause 19). A gateway to a non-amateur network is allowed only at 5 W e.r.p. or less, and the licensee must take all reasonable steps to ensure it is used only by an amateur (clause 14). Other limits depend on your licence class; read the rules that apply to you before connecting anything to the mesh. We did not research which UK bands AREDN hardware may use or the power limit for each licence class.

Sources

AREDN
Documentation
World map, data read 29 October 2026
47 CFR 97.113