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Licensed (amateur radio)

HAMNET

European amateur-radio IP network of linked microwave sites, coordinated through a shared database

Depends active

Updated 29 Oct 2026

Internet trafficDepends. A DCC 2014 presentation says amateurs can reach it by VPN from the internet. Amateur rules restrict commercial use, so do not expect it to work as an ISP.
Node countNot published as a node count. HamnetDB listed autonomous-system entries on 29 Oct 2026: Germany 716, Austria 168, Netherlands 128, France 70, Luxembourg 52 (database entries, not nodes or users) (as of 29 Oct 2026, source)
GeographyPan-European rather than a city network. HamnetDB's country list on 29 Oct 2026 had 17 rows, led by Germany and Austria; the UK was not among them.
RegionsGermany, Austria, Netherlands, France, Luxembourg
Tech
  • Unmanned amateur stations linked by microwave, mostly commercial hardware on the amateur 2.4 and 5 GHz allocations, with a 6 cm backbone
  • IPv4 with BGP
  • Address space 44.128.0.0/10 from AMPRNet (German Wikipedia)
Typical costNot published. You need an amateur radio licence and suitable microwave hardware.
BandwidthNot published.
LegalAn amateur radio licence is required, and amateur rules restrict commercial use. Check your own licence conditions.
GovernanceRegional HAMNET groups coordinate, for example via DARC in Germany, and sites are registered in HamnetDB. Per German Wikipedia, the project has been run by members of the Austrian society ÖVSV since 2005 and was first presented as HAMNET in Vienna in 2008; the German project had its official start on 31 October 2009.
UK notesYou would need a UK amateur radio licence. We could not verify a UK-specific route to join or any UK presence; HamnetDB's country list had no UK row on 29 Oct 2026.
Links

How it works

HAMNET is a European IP network run by licensed amateur radio operators. Unmanned amateur stations are linked by microwave, mostly commercial hardware on the amateur 2.4 and 5 GHz allocations, with a 6 cm backbone. It uses IPv4 with BGP and the address space 44.128.0.0/10 from AMPRNet (German Wikipedia).

Per German Wikipedia, the project has been run by members of the Austrian society ÖVSV since 2005 and was first presented as HAMNET in Vienna in 2008; the German project had its official start on 31 October 2009. The network is mainly in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg, by HamnetDB entry count.

How to join

You need an amateur radio licence. Regional HAMNET groups coordinate, for example via DARC in Germany, and sites are registered in HamnetDB.

What it realistically gives you

Mostly connectivity between amateur sites. A 2014 presentation says amateurs can reach it by VPN from the internet. Amateur rules restrict commercial use, so it is not an ISP.

The HamnetDB entry counts we read on 29 October 2026 were Germany 716, Austria 168, Netherlands 128, France 70 and Luxembourg 52. They are database entries for regions (autonomous systems), not nodes or users, so this site does not present them as a node count.

Caveats

  • Active: a FOSDEM 2025 talk gave a status update on 1 February 2025, and HamnetDB showed Germany last edited 9 days before we read it.
  • The DCC 2014 presentation is the source for the hardware, bands and traffic mix. It is old.
  • The DARC introduction PDF exists, but we did not read it.

Sources