44Net Main Page
44Net is a community of licensed amateur radio operators connecting systems and operating networks using shared, publicly routable IPv4 address space.
44Net in Brief
What People Build
Operators put 44Net space to work in different ways. Some connect a single system; others collaborate on shared projects or build networks of their own. There is no single “right” way to participate.
Projects using 44Net address space vary widely in scale and technical depth. A club might use it to maintain repeaters over cellular or satellite uplinks. An individual operator might publish a page of resources from a server in their shack. Preparedness teams might maintain fixed public IPs on mobile devices. A regional group might link microwave sites across a city or country. Participants shape the network by building and sharing, regardless of scope or skillset.
Personal stations and home services
Many participants begin by making a single system reachable: a home station operable remotely, a server in the shack or home lab, or a service hosted with a cloud provider that offers bring-your-own-IP.
In Practice:
Self-organized groups use 44Net to operate shared systems: repeaters, club networks, and volunteer-run services offered to the wider community.
In Practice:
- The Internet Radio Linking Project connects repeaters and stations worldwide via voice-over-IP between publicly reachable systems using 44Net addresses.
- HamNET in Germany is a large-scale volunteer-operated amateur radio network with hundreds of nodes, using 44Net address space with multi-gigahertz equipment to interconnect sites across the country.
Routed and experimental networks
Some participants take on larger projects: site-to-site links, resilient backbones, or independent emergency communications networks. Many projects use modern equipment, though plenty use older, repurposed, or custom-built gear.
In Practice:
- The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network uses 44Net IPs with their high-speed mesh network for emergency and community communications.
- HamWAN is a participant-built amateur microwave backbone in the Pacific Northwest routing IP traffic between mountaintops and urban sites over high-speed links.
Other projects involve space communications, Internet research, autonomous networks, and more. See What People Build on 44Net for more examples.
How People Participate
People take various paths into 44Net. Many first hear of 44Net at a hamfest, on a podcast, or in a blog post. They may join an existing project as a user, or help operate one as a volunteer. After joining or helping with someone else’s project, many people find themselves running one of their own.
Anyone interested can join a mailing list and just listen or ask questions. For some people, seeing what licensed amateurs can do with 44Net is the motivation to get licensed themselves.
Common paths into 44Net
Join a Network
Many participants begin by connecting to an existing network or joining a local effort. Regional RF networks, shared gateways, and other volunteer-run systems provide immediate ways to participate while learning how systems operate in practice.
Examples:
Local packet and microwave networks, regional mesh projects, and shared access systems operated by volunteer groups.
Others participate by contributing to active projects. Technicians, designers, writers, tower climbers, and system administrators volunteer to work together keeping these projects running and helping them grow. Sometimes all it takes is a radio, a Raspberry Pi, and a willingness to contribute.
Examples:
IRLP nodes, shared monitoring or DNS services, research collaborations, repeater linking systems, and community experimentation platforms.
Create Something New
Some participants begin by building something new on their own: a reachable host, a local RF deployment, an experimental network, or an open hardware project. Many parts of 44Net running today started as something one person built for themselves.
Examples:
New club networks, independent routing experiments, novel services, or radio-linked systems exploring new technical ideas.
When an operator is ready to run their own system, they choose a connectivity approach that fits their project, request address space, and get building. See Getting Started for more on connectivity approaches.
Common ways projects connect
44Net Connect
A WireGuard-based approach that uses secure tunnels over existing Internet links to bring 44Net to common, modern devices. Developed and maintained by volunteers with support from ARDC. Get Started with 44Net Connect →
IPIP Mesh
A community-operated overlay network built with IP-in-IP tunnels, allowing independently run systems to interconnect across the Internet. It’s a living descendant of the original AMPRNet packet networks. Get Started with IPIP Mesh →
BGP-Announced Subnet
Projects that operate their own infrastructure may announce 44Net address space using BGP, integrating directly with the global Internet routing table. This is the path for groups running their own ASNs, datacenters, or upstream connections. Get Started with BGP-Announced Subnets →
A Culture of Experimentation
44Net address space exists to be used. Experimenting, learning, and occasionally changing direction are normal parts of participation. Many operators start with a small idea just to see what happens. Some of those ideas have grown into long-running projects that still serve the community today.
Some projects naturally conclude once operators have explored their ideas. If a project winds down, returning or exchanging a subnet is straightforward, and operators are always welcome to try something new later. You do not need a fully formed plan before you begin, and it is not a waste of space just to try something on 44Net — just return the space when you’re done so others can try their ideas too.
ARDC maintains the address space and the core infrastructure that keeps 44Net available over time. Participants help steward the network by building things, keeping them running, and contributing to a healthy community. In keeping with amateur radio tradition, operators have wide freedom to experiment, provided they help protect the resource and use it thoughtfully so others can build and explore as well.
To learn more about how decisions are made or how to take part, see About 44Net, Governance, Policies, and Contributing.
Before Connecting
44Net supports non-commercial projects and is maintained as a community service. Participation generally requires an amateur radio operating license, and community expectations are similar to those of other amateur radio activities. To learn more about eligibility, see Learn how eligibility works.
Further Reading
Ways to keep learning:
- Understand history and stewardship: About 44Net
- Explore examples and existing efforts: What People Build on 44Net
- Learn how connectivity approaches compare: Ways to Connect
More ways to participate:
- Join or contribute to community projects: Ways to Participate
- Start your own project: Getting Started
- Dive deeper into infrastructure topics: DNS and naming and Routing and connectivity
Joining the Discussion
You do not need a project or subnet to participate in 44Net. Many people begin just by listening.
Participants use mailing lists and discussion spaces to compare notes, test ideas, and watch projects take shape in real time. Joining the conversation is often an easy way to start.
- Subscribe to community discussions: Community and Mailing Lists
- Introduce yourself, ask questions, or follow ongoing projects.
- See how others are experimenting and collaborating across the network.
- Listen, ask questions, and share what you learn.
People continue to evolve 44Net through the projects they build and the knowledge they share. If you’re licensed, curious, and ready to try something, there is a place for you here.