From Consumer to Creator: A Practical Guide to Community Telecoms

In the first two parts of this series, we explored why community telecoms matter and how resilient mesh networks can save lives during emergencies. Now comes the question I’m asked most often: “That sounds great, but how do I actually build one?”

This is the knowledge I wish I’d had when I started.

If my journey from those early Austrian tele-working centres to deploying mesh networks across remote Australian properties has taught me anything: the hardest part isn’t the technology—it’s overcoming the psychological barrier between “consumer” and “creator.” We’ve been conditioned to believe telecommunications infrastructure is something large corporations build, not something communities can create themselves.

That conditioning is wrong. In my three decades working with open-source technologies—from Linux in education to LoRa mesh networks for agriculture—I’ve learned that communities build better infrastructure than corporations when given the tools and knowledge. We understand our own needs. We maintain what we build. We don’t abandon projects when quarterly profits disappoint.

This guide hopes to provide a starting point. It’s based on past deployments—mine and others’—not theoretical possibilities.

1. Start with a Goal and a Core Team

Before you buy any hardware, define your objective. Are you trying to:

• Provide affordable broadband to a few dozen homes in a blackspot?
• Create a free public Wi-Fi network for your town’s main street and community hub?
• Build a resilient emergency communications network?

Your goal will determine the technology you choose. Find a small, dedicated team of people with a mix of skills—someone technical, someone good at organising, and someone who knows how to navigate local council regulations.

2. Choose Your Technology

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Most community networks use a combination of technologies. Here’s what actually works, based on deployments I’ve studied or built:

For Broadband Access (The “Last Mile”):

Fixed Wireless Example: Kalumburu, WA

Kalumburu Community deploys Ubiquiti fixed wireless to provide town-wide connectivity from a central internet backhaul point. A single high-speed connection (via satellite or microwave) feeds directional antennas that beam to subscriber radios on homes and buildings.

Your Shopping List (for 20-30 households):

• 1x Backhaul connection (Starlink Business: $350/month)
• 1x Base station radio (Ubiquiti Rocket AC: $200)
• 1x Sector antenna (Ubiquiti airMAX: $150-300)
• 20-30x Client radios (Ubiquiti NanoStation: $100 each)
• Mounting hardware, cables, and power supplies: $500-1000

Total: ~$3,500-4,500 upfront + backhaul costs

Mesh Wi-Fi Example: Community Hall or Caravan Park

For dense coverage in a smaller area (town centre, campground, community facility), mesh Wi-Fi blankets the area without requiring cable to each access point.

Your Shopping List (for 1-hectare coverage):

• 4-6x Mesh AP units (Ubiquiti U6-Mesh: $180 each, or TP-Link Omada EAP series: $120 each)
• 1x Controller (can run on Raspberry Pi: $100)
• Power over Ethernet switches and cabling: $300-500

Total: ~$1,200-1,800

A Note on Emerging Technologies

It’s worth keeping an eye on technologies like Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah). Operating in the sub-gigahertz spectrum (around 900 MHz), it offers far better range and wall penetration than traditional 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi, making it a promising future candidate for rural and last-mile broadband. While consumer device support is still limited, it’s a technology worth watching for future community projects that need more bandwidth than LoRa can provide but greater range than conventional Wi-Fi.

For Resilience and Emergency Communications:

LoRa/Reticulum Example: Property Network

Based on my deployment across multiple remote properties—this is the backbone for when everything else fails.

Your Shopping List (for 10km² coverage):

• 4-6x Fixed nodes (Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W: $30 + RNode compatible LoRa HAT: $80 + solar panel and battery: $80-120 = $190-230 each)
• 1-2x Gateway nodes (same as above but with internet backhaul)
• 5-10x Mobile/handheld units (LilyGO T-Beam: $50-70 each, or smartphones running Sideband)

Total: ~$1,500-2,500 for complete mesh

LoRaWAN Example: Agricultural Sensors

For sensor networks (soil moisture, weather, water levels) where you need years of battery life and central data collection. It’s crucial to understand that LoRaWAN is an ultra-narrow-bandwidth network; it’s for tiny packets of data, not voice calls or web browsing.

Your Shopping List (30 sensors across 50km²):

• 1-2x LoRaWAN gateways (RAK Wireless outdoor: $300-500 each)
• 30x Sensor nodes (varies by sensor type: $50-150 each)
• Backend server (Raspberry Pi with ChirpStack: $150)
• Enclosures and mounting: $500-800

Total: ~$2,500-6,000 depending on sensors

Note: As discussed in the previous post, for secure and robust emergency messaging, Reticulum running over LoRa hardware is the gold standard for a truly resilient, decentralised network.

3. Navigate Funding and Regulation (The Australian Reality)

Money and bureaucracy often feel like the biggest barriers, but Australian programs specifically target community networks. Here’s what actually works:

Federal Funding Programs:

Regional Connectivity Program (RCP)

The Regional Connectivity Program has committed $368.4 million to place-based communications projects. Round 3 projects must be completed by June 2027. This is real money for real projects.

Who can apply: Local councils, not-for-profits, community organisations, regional development authorities, and even for-profit companies partnering with communities.

What they fund: Infrastructure (towers, radios, solar), labour costs, project management, and even community training.

Success tip: Partner with your local council. Council-backed applications score higher, and councils can provide in-kind support (land access, mounting points on council buildings, technical staff time).

Better Connectivity Plan

Over $1.1 billion across multiple programs targeting:

• Mobile Black Spot Program (for filling coverage gaps)
• On-Farm Connectivity Program (for agricultural sensors and monitoring)
• Regional Tech Hub (for shared infrastructure and training)

Real Example: A Victoria community collective successfully secured $180,000 in RCP funding by demonstrating 47 unconnected households, council endorsement, and a 3-year sustainability plan with member contributions of $30/month covering ongoing costs.

Spectrum Licensing (The Sobering Reality):

While some frequencies are available for use, the good news comes with significant caveats. The most useful spectrum for community networks in Australia is class-licensed, which means it’s unlicensed for use but comes with strict power limits and the risk of interference.

• Sub-GHz ISM bands (915 MHz for LoRa): Class-licensed for low-power use.
• 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (for Wi-Fi and fixed wireless): Class-licensed and notoriously crowded.

The bigger challenge is the lack of a legal framework for more powerful, shared community access, similar to the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the United States. The Australian government’s short-sighted sell-off of spectrum to large telcos has left very little available for public or community use. As it stands, there is no clear legal basis for a community to operate a CBRS-style network without obtaining a full, cost-prohibitive telecommunications license. This places Australia at a significant disadvantage compared to other jurisdictions that have actively enabled community-led broadband initiatives.

Therefore, for most deployments, you must operate within the constraints of class-licensed bands, accepting the limitations on power and the potential for interference.

Installation and Safety:

• Working at heights: Use qualified riggers for tower installations (legal requirement for work above 2 meters commercially)
• Electrical safety: Licensed electricians for mains power integration
• Land access: Written permission for mounting on private land or council facilities

Council relationships are critical: Most successful community networks have a champion within local council who understands the project and helps navigate requirements. Start there.

4. Start Small, Learn, and Grow (Real Examples)

You don’t have to solve everything on day one. Australia’s successful community networks all started with pilot projects:

Aurukun, QLD Example:

Started with a single free public Wi-Fi hotspot at the community centre (funded by a small Regional Arts Australia grant). Success led to additional funding for broader deployment. Now serves 800+ residents across the township.

Menindee, NSW Example:

Began with 5 households pooling resources for a single fixed wireless link to split NBN costs. Success convinced 20 more households to join. Now operates as informal cooperative with 35 members and growing.

Your Starting Point (Recommended):

1. Month 1-2: Connect 3-5 neighboring households or the community hall + 2-3 nearby buildings
2. Month 3-6: Document everything: costs, performance, challenges, successes. This becomes your grant application evidence
3. Month 6-12: Apply for RCP or similar funding to expand to broader community
4. Year 2+: Establish formal structure (cooperative, community company, or council-managed service)

Pilot Project Budgets:

• Micro (3-5 homes): $800-1,500
• Small (community building + 10 homes): $2,500-4,000
• Medium (town centre + 30 homes): $5,000-8,000

These are achievable through crowdfunding, member contributions, or small local business sponsorship before pursuing government grants.

A Call to Action

Three decades ago, I helped rural Austrian communities build tele-working centres that connected them to opportunities in distant cities. The technology was primitive—14.4k modems, early ISDN, shared workstations—but the principle was revolutionary: communities don’t need to wait for corporations or governments to solve their digital isolation. They can build their own solutions.

Today, the technology is exponentially better. A $30 LoRa radio can communicate 10 kilometres. A $100 Raspberry Pi can run enterprise-grade networking stacks. Solar panels and batteries that once cost thousands now cost hundreds. The barriers that existed when I started no longer apply.

What hasn’t changed: the need for someone to take the first step.

In every successful community network I’ve studied or helped build—from those Austrian villages to Australian bushland—the pattern is identical. One person learned enough to believe it was possible, convinced a handful of neighbours, built a pilot that worked, and that success became infectious.

Be that person. Start with three households. Prove it works. Then grow.

The tools are here. Some funding exists. The knowledge is documented (including my technical deep-dives on every major mesh protocol, published throughout February). The only missing ingredient is often the will to begin.

Your community’s digital future is too important to be left to distant monopolies that prioritise profit over people. Talk to your neighbours. Contact your local council. Find your area’s maker space or tech community. Don’t forget Australia’s own, slightly lost, tradition of community Wi-Fi; groups like Adelaide’s Air-Stream Wireless{:target="_blank"} were building these networks back when internet access wasn’t ubiquitous and corporately controlled. The technically-minded people with the skills and passion to help build this are still out there—they often just need someone to catalyse action.

Building your own communications infrastructure is more than a technical project. It’s a declaration of sovereignty—a statement that your community’s connectivity matters, and you’re willing to build it yourself if necessary.

Let’s get building. And when you do, share what you learn. That’s how we collectively advance from corporate dependency to community ownership.

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• Mesh Wifi
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