Editing Ends and Means (section)

===Overview===
The Free Network is not just a leap forward - it is also a survival strategy. The current hierarchical network model will not scale to meet the demand of an increasingly networked world. The obvious fix is to keep local traffic local, and that is something that can only happen efficiently on a network that enables material peer-to-peer.


The Free Network will offer a richer network experience at a fraction of the price, and in so doing provide a technological platform for a new wave of innovation. It will enable communities to leverage the economies of scale, driving down the price of network access while increasing network resilience, and reducing our susceptibility to interception and censorship. It will allow us to meet the surging global demand for network access, and ensure that no one ever again goes hungry for knowledge.


The Free Network is unlike what has come before - it is the people's network, owned at once by all and none. The technology to build this network exists. At this point, it is a matter of making it possible for all to participate, through integration, optimization, and packaging.

The fundamental technology that underpins the Free Network is that of the [[mesh network]]. A mesh network is one in which nodes pass messages directly to one another, rather than through a central hub. This type of network topology is ''horizontal'' and ''decentralized'', meaning that no node is a [[single point of failure]]. Mesh networks are ''self-healing'', meaning that the network has the capability of routing around a node that fails.


The concept of the mesh network is not new - in fact, the original premise, and promise of the Internet was of a wire-line implementation of mesh principles. We view the Free Network as a harkening back to those original principles of distribution and resilience from which the network of networks was born. From the perspective of telecommunications companies and Internet service providers, at the level of the [[backbone]], the Internet ''is'' a mesh network. The problem lies in the fact that Telcos and ISPs have themselves become points of centralization and control. By implementing a network [[access layer]] which is hierarchical, companies such as [[Verizon]], [[Comcast]], and [[AT&T]] have gained the ability to route packets through centralized hubs, and inspect those packets in the process. The Free Network represents a departure from that model, and a return to an Internet that is controlled by no one and every one at the same time.


As we proceed, keep in mind that the global communications network is a construction of immense scope and complexity. For any initiative with the aim of bettering that network to be successful, it must rely upon the principle of [[emergence]]. That is, the desired changes must come about in a manner that is gradual and organic. What follows is a description of our ends, but not our means. A feasible means of achieving such an end is described in detail in section 3 of this document.


Wireless implementations of the mesh topology have evolved over the course of the last two decades, from a theoretical and experimental novelty, to a field-tested and battle-hardened production technology. Metropolitan-scale wireless mesh networks exist in several European cities, and smaller networks are in operation around the world. The proposed architecture of the Free Network uses the wireless mesh as a design element, but expands upon and improves the idea.


Our innovation is called [[fractal mesh]], and consists in the application and interconnection of mesh networks at different scales. A neighborhood mesh of a few thousand nodes (what we call a [[neighborhood network]]) is connected to other neigborhood networks in a regional, [[backhaul]] mesh. This regional network is then connected to other regional networks via a global mesh of [[fiber-optic]] and [[satellite]] routes.


In a Free Network, the people become their own Internet service provider. Instead of paying profit to those that own the infrastructure, they themself are the owner. One recieves access to the network in exchange for agreeing to provide access to others. This is possible using current technology, but it is exceedingly difficult. Our aim is to specify standards for the interoperability of free networks, and to produce networking solutions that assist people in the construction of such networks. In order to achieve these ends, we will build a reference implementation, which can be copied, modified, and improved upon.

Of paramount concern in the implementation and integration of the technologies referenced in this document is their accessibility to all users. The clearest path to a freer network is to take those freedom-enabling technologies that exist today, and make it possible for anyone to use them. That's where the ''FreedomBox'' comes in.