A high-speed wireless mesh network built on amateur radio spectrum — carrying real network traffic, not just voice.
AREDN — the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network — turns repurposed Wi-Fi hardware into a self-healing wireless mesh, utilizing amateur radio spectrum allocations adjacent to or sharing frequencies with consumer Wi-Fi networks.. Instead of one repeater carrying voice, AREDN nodes carry actual network traffic: high-speed, self-configuring, and able to keep running on battery or solar power when the grid is down.
Because it's a real IP network, AREDN can carry almost anything a wired network can. Nodes link together automatically, route around damaged or offline links, and extend coverage well beyond what a single station could reach on its own.
File sharing and document collaboration, reachable over the mesh with no internet connection needed.
A rapidly deployable tactical call center — battery-powered IP phones over AREDN mesh with Starlink backhaul, standing up inbound/outbound (DID) calling in off-grid environments.
Live camera feeds shared across the mesh for situational awareness at a deployment or event.
Decentralized text chat and file sharing running over the mesh network to coordinate stations.
Live GOES satellite lightning detection and NWS alert relay, pushed onto the mesh so warnings reach stations even if other channels are down.
Decoded NOAA Weather Radio SAME alerts relayed onto the network as they're received.
A bridge links our AREDN mesh to the Meshtastic network, connecting AREDN's high-speed backbone with Meshtastic's long-range, low-power messaging.
The official AREDN node map — our nodes span eastern Iowa, reaching toward Minnesota and Wisconsin. Use the map's find tool to zoom into our area. Open the full map →
