Telco and connectivity infrastructure

General
#1

Are there any plans being discussed to plan for future telecommunications and data connectivity and infrastructure?

Perhaps at the beginning, wireless infrastructure is easier to deploy and maintain. However, it would be wise to plan ahead for trenching permanent fiber lines across Liberland before it’s all constructed.

For data:

  • first phase wireless infrastructure, probably some type of WiFi mesh network, maybe some of it is adhoc or P2P
  • trenched multiple fiber lines around Liberland with branches for residents and businesses
  • second phase of some more robust wireless network; this may come before or after the fiber is deployed, but probably after due to bandwidth and constraints
  • future connection by fiber, fixed-point wireless, or laser high speed link to Serbia or Croatia?
  • maybe StarLink could add a future redundancy

For other telecommunications, such as voice:

  • most people use chat apps on their mobile devices these days, so probably no need for legacy type copper communication, although it could maybe be useful in doomsday scenarios, but I’m not advocating for it
  • Meshtastic is a great alternative to local radio and voice communication, can be encrypted, and works independently of outside infrastructure
  • Meshtastic can communicate globally using private satellite relays!
  • short or long wave radio base station; it’s not just a cool hobby, but a licensed and serious endeavour legislated by governments around the world, so it’s another way to assert sovereignty
  • due to control over wireless spectrum, it may be difficult to have a Liberland based cellular carrier, and while there is open-source software and available hardware for such initiatives, it’s not necessary to consider until ITU issues Liberland a country code, at which point it would be another demonstration of sovereignty, even if there was only one transceiver
2 Likes
#2

Hey Daniel,

Your post resonates with me! Seeing we’re on the same wavelength regarding the future of telecommunications and data connectivity in Liberland is fantastic. I’ve been mulling over a similar concept, focusing on deploying a Full Mesh network across our country, and I’m thrilled to merge our ideas into a cohesive proposal.

Here’s the gist of my concept: Each building in Liberland will be equipped with a Wi-Fi Router running OpenWRT and the Yggdrasil Network Daemon, along with an external Omni-directional antenna. This setup ensures every building becomes a node in our resilient mesh network. Additionally, about 3 to 5 buildings will serve as gateways or proxies (possibly using shared StarLink) to connect us to the broader Internet. This provides us with public Wi-Fi resilient against natural disasters and creates a secure internal network for… well, gaming nights! :smile:

I work extensively with the Zerotier network, which offers a full mesh but faster connectivity due to its centralized communication point. Its design principle was “decentralize until it hurts, then centralize until it works,” striking a balance between speed and minimal centralization.

While a Full Mesh network can be slower due to dynamic routing, Zerotier handles this more efficiently than Yggdrasil or CJDNS. However, I’m also a fan of a hybrid approach, combining wireless and cabled infrastructure. Imagine every building with dual connections – fiber or ethernet for high-speed data, complemented by our wireless mesh. This seamless integration means our network remains robust, regardless of the connection type. I see the wired infrastructure as an extension of the wireless space.

Zerotier’s ability to automatically choose the fastest path (preferring fiber or ethernet) and switch to Wi-Fi in case of failure ensures our buildings stay connected. Yggdrasil may monitor connections for optimal path selection, but I’m unsure. For more control and additional security, we can deploy our Zerotier servers.

Another exciting possibility is using Wireguard to build a mesh network. It’s faster than other solutions, though it would require more automation.

Extending our network with the Helium Network could revolutionize environmental monitoring and urban planning in Liberland. The potential is immense, from air and water quality sensors to supporting precision farming and smart city initiatives. It could even aid public safety with early flood and fire detection systems for natural disasters.

Looking ahead, setting up a data center in Liberland is a must. With my background in OpenStack and Ceph, we can build our Cloud infrastructure, both public and private, to serve Liberland’s digital brain.

Another idea is the software-defined radio (SDR), a powerful technology with pros and cons. SDR offers incredible flexibility, allowing us to capture and transmit a wide range of frequencies. It’s adaptable and can be updated with software, making it future-proof. However, the downside includes the need for significant processing power and potential security vulnerabilities that we need to guard against.

With my 25 years of experience in Network and Linux engineering, I’m ready to dive into designing and implementing these solutions for our country. While I have experience with Asterisk and FreePBX, there might be a better way forward in our digitally driven world than traditional telephony.

In envisioning Liberland’s future, I see a place where we’re not dependent on multiple ISPs or vulnerable to Big Tech influences (i.e., Facebook trying to take over the connectivity in Africa). Our approach to internet access and private communication should reflect our values of independence and respect for fundamental human rights.

I am looking forward to making this vision a reality together!

Cheers!

1 Like
#3

Just to build on the initial connectivity- I am assuming there isn’t much mobile cellular coverage, if any currently. There is an Android app called ‘Briar’ which allows mesh communication directly between phones using Bluetooth, WiFi (Peer to Peer if the wireless network doesn’t have Internet connectivity) or traditional Internet depending on what is available: https://briarproject.org/

The limitation is it doesn’t support Apple devices. It doesn’t require any account registration to a website- accounts you make are local to your device.

There is a Beta version of Briar for desktop computers too, although I’m unsure on the reliability of that.

This could be a bit easier to have in place as a starting point than Meshtastic since it doesn’t require any Lora radio equipment- just a smartphone.

Edit:

Just to clarify, I’m thinking this would enable Liberlandians to communicate with each other more easily until more infrastructure is put in place.

#4

Good points Daniel, and good feedback from the responders!

I guess the “first settlers” doesn’t need that much bandwidth, probably much less that 1Gbps aggregated capacity or even less for voice and simple SMS xfers. I’ll try to visit LL later this year if I’m allowed an entry, and measures the field strengths and locations of the foreign closest mobile base stations to satisfy my own curiosity. These findings might be of a certain relevance for LL as the stations equipped with phase array antennas might be “forced” to avoid LL or direct their radiation pattern away from LL.

What follows might be a local secondary DNS/Web/Mail server and a Power Generator + Backup to keep the infra running 24/7 if the primary “fails” for “whatever” reason.

Just my 5-cents…

Nisse