Keep control local
Members retain their identities, networks and customer relationships.
Introducing CNFFounded by Lodestar Networks
Building shared strength for local networks.
Today, Lodestar Networks announces the creation of the Community Networks Federation. We are building CNF to bring independent mobile networks and ISPs together, lower the barriers to running a network and give more communities the power to improve their own connectivity.
The work is under way now. Shared mobile core services, voice and numbering resources, infrastructure cooperation and mutual backup are all in active development. CNF will turn work that is difficult for one small operator to carry alone into capability that independent networks can build and use together.
We are building CNF's infrastructure now. See the programmeOur purpose
Give more communities the means to build their own networks.
Too many communities are still poorly served. Every village, estate and rural business deserves a practical route to better connectivity.
Local providers understand those gaps, but building and operating the systems behind a network can demand resources out of proportion to its size.
CNF is tackling that barrier by building infrastructure and engineering resources that independent operators can share. Each member will retain its own brand, local network and customer relationships, with stronger foundations for operating independently and competing.
Build once, support many
Common infrastructure and expertise reduce repeated work.
Grow shared strength
Cooperation and planned backup give independent operators a stronger base.
Costs and coverage
Put more of the network budget into serving the community.
Subscriber systems, monitoring, software maintenance, recovery planning and specialist support all carry costs. A small operator has fewer customers across which to spread them. We are building shared services so that the same work can support several networks instead of being recreated separately for each one.
Share recurring work and capacity
CNF is bringing common tooling, pooled engineering, shared facilities and suitable joint purchasing into one programme. This will let members focus more effort on local infrastructure, customer service and the areas that need investment.
Extend the model to voice
We are extending the shared model to IMS and numbering. Common registration, call control, number provisioning and routing will reduce duplicated work while supporting distinct member services and customer relationships.
Keep ordinary traffic closer
We are building local internet breakout into the architecture so ordinary traffic need not travel through a distant gateway when suitable connectivity is available nearby. Packet-processing capacity stays close to the community.
| Local responsibilities | Opportunities to share | Costs to include |
|---|---|---|
| Access equipment, sites, power and local support | Subscriber and mobility services | Shared hosting, maintenance and operations |
| Local backhaul and internet capacity | Engineering, monitoring and incident procedures | Inter-site links and member support |
| Local gateway capacity where selected | Spare capacity and recovery expertise | Reserved headroom, recovery tests and settlement |
| Member voice offers and customer relationships | IMS call control and numbering administration | Voice infrastructure, interconnection and numbering services |
The full cost matters. Net savings depend on avoided duplication exceeding the additional costs of shared services, interconnection and resilience. Radio, sites or transport may remain the largest cost in a deployment.
Choice
Make room for better value and more local choice.
Lower delivery costs give providers more scope for affordable tariffs, better support and wider coverage. More viable independent operators also give people more choice about who supplies their service.
That is CNF's purpose: give providers more room to improve price, service and investment while each member keeps control of its own retail decisions and customer relationships.
Coverage
Build around the gaps communities know best.
Community
radio site ISP
backhaul CNF shared
services
radio site ISP
backhaul CNF shared
services
CNF is building the shared foundation that links a local site, an ISP's backhaul and mobile core services around a specific coverage gap. Every real site also needs suitable radio design, spectrum access, power and backhaul.
The CMF roaming workstream will make a member's coverage available to permitted federation subscribers after validation. It will not extend a radio signal or grant access to other UK operators.
Shared infrastructure
Independent at the edge. Stronger together underneath.
CNF's shared layer is being built for different kinds of independent operator. Mobile networks, ISPs and infrastructure contributors will be able to use and support the services relevant to their work without giving up their local identity.
Independent mobile networkRadio, local operations and customer service
Fibre or fixed wireless ISPAccess, transport, facilities and engineering
Infrastructure contributorHosting, capacity or specialist support
Community Networks Federation
Mobile core services
Engineering and monitoring
Mutual backup
IMS voice platform
Numbering administration
Members retain their brands, infrastructure and customer relationships. Shared-service and membership terms will define responsibilities and access.
Community Mobile Federation
The complicated core work, maintained together.
Community Mobile Federation, or CMF, is CNF's mobile programme. Shared MME services for LTE access and mobility, and a shared HSS for subscriber records and SIM authentication, are now in development. We are building around clear member separation and explicit service and roaming permissions.
The architecture keeps each mobile member's PLMN identity distinct. We are engineering the shared services for multiple national sites, coordinated data and tested recovery.
Signalling and subscriber control
Subscriber internet traffic
Shared control and subscriber services
MMELTE access and mobilityHSSSubscriber records and SIM authentication
Operated across selected regional or national facilities
Member mobile network A
Local radioLocal SGW and PGWLocal internet exit
Member identity and local operational responsibility stay distinct.
Member mobile network B
Local radioLocal SGW and PGWLocal internet exit
Shared MME and HSS services do not forward each internet packet.
- PLMN
- A mobile network identity formed from its country and network codes.
- MME
- Manages LTE access and mobility.
- HSS
- Supports subscriber information and SIM authentication.
- SGW and PGW
- Mobile gateways, with separate control and packet-processing functions in a CUPS design.
- Local breakout
- Internet traffic exits through the local or visited network's gateway.
Shared voice and numbers
Share the voice platform and the work behind every number.
CNF is developing shared IP Multimedia Subsystem services for mobile and fixed voice providers.
Common registration and call-control infrastructure will give members a maintained foundation for voice services. Shared telephone-number provisioning, routing and administration will reduce another layer of duplicated work.
Members will retain their brands, offers and customer relationships. Number access will use appropriate allocation or sub-allocation arrangements, with every number assigned to the correct member and service.
Member voice offersMobile voiceFixed voice
Shared IMS platformRegistrationCall controlMember-aware routing
Numbering servicesProvisioningRouting administrationUsage attribution
Shared services, local capacity
Distribute functions where they make sense.
CNF's mobile design is being built to separate the functions that benefit from shared operation from the capacity that belongs close to the community. The result will be a practical division of responsibility, with clear ownership of each service and subscriber session.
| Function | Intended design space |
|---|---|
| Radio access | Member or community sites |
| MME and HSS services | Shared operation across selected regional or national facilities |
| SGW-C and PGW-C | Member control, shared regional control or an agreed combination |
| SGW-U and PGW-U | Local or nearby regional packet processing and internet exits |
| Policy and charging | Member-aware control, usage collection, reconciliation and member retail billing |
| DNS and monitoring | Shared tooling with service instances placed for performance and resilience |
| IMS access and home services | A shared member-aware platform with regional access or media placement where useful |
| Telephone numbers | Common provisioning and routing, using appropriate resource arrangements and clear member assignments |
For ISPs
Fibre and fixed wireless belong at the centre of this effort.
ISPs bring transport, internet connectivity, facilities and local engineering knowledge. CNF is building that infrastructure into a wider programme of cooperation, whether a member operates mobile service, fixed access or both.
An ISP can provide backhaul for a community radio site, host gateway capacity or share practical engineering resources. Another can participate entirely through fixed broadband. A mobile network code is not required to contribute.
An ISP offering fixed voice will also be able to use the shared IMS and numbering programme. Hosting, spare capacity and recovery expertise can become services members provide for one another as the federation grows.
BackhaulInternet connectivityHostingFixed accessVoice servicesEngineering
Mutual backup
Design recovery across the federation.
We are designing mutual gateway backup so members can arrange reserve SGW and PGW capacity with Lodestar Networks or another participant. Recovery depends on an authorised backup, enough reserved capacity and a surviving route from the radio site.
Member radioPrimary gatewayInternet
Normal local service
The member's local gateway carries new and established connections.
The member retains its serving identity and local internet exit.
Member radioPrimary gateway failedInternet unavailable
Gateway site failure
A gateway failure interrupts affected connections.
A backup cannot help if the radio has no power or no usable transport route.
Member radioAuthorised backupInternet
Service recovery
New or re-established connections use the healthy backup.
Initial recovery may involve interruption or an IP address change. Preserving established sessions is a later coordinated gateway target.
- Admit new connections
Use a healthy, authorised backup chain.
- Re-establish affected connections
Restore service with possible interruption and address changes.
- Coordinate for continuity
Later preserve the session, policy, addressing and forwarding state needed for established connections.
The programme
We are building CNF's infrastructure now.
Lodestar Networks is building the shared infrastructure behind CNF now. Engineering and controlled validation are part of every service workstream, so the federation can grow on foundations its members can trust.
Foundation under construction
Build from working experience.
Lodestar Networks already operates a mobile core. Gateway and federation infrastructure development is extending that practical foundation for CNF.
The first technical milestone
Prove the complete data path.
The next milestone will demonstrate member roaming, local internet breakout and gateway recovery together in a controlled data pilot.
Parallel engineering work
Make shared services member-aware.
CNF is developing subscriber services, routing, policy, charging and multi-site recovery for mobile members, alongside shared IMS, numbering and voice administration.
Being built now: the infrastructure, engineering and validation programme are active. Federation roaming, mutual gateway recovery, national MME and HSS resilience, and federation voice will open to members after their respective testing is complete. Voice and emergency handling have their own engineering and validation work.
Participation
Build it with us.
If you run an independent ISP or community mobile network, or want to start one, now is the time to help shape CNF. Tell us where shared infrastructure would help, what your community needs and what you could bring to the federation.
Talk to Lodestar about CNF- What local coverage or service problem are you trying to solve?
- Which shared services would reduce duplicated work for your network?
- What infrastructure, capacity or expertise could you contribute?
Plain answers
Questions about CNF.
What is Lodestar Networks announcing?
The creation of Community Networks Federation and the active programme to build its shared infrastructure for independent mobile networks and ISPs. The infrastructure is being built now, and each shared technical service will be validated before member use.
Is CNF only for mobile operators?
No. Fibre and fixed wireless ISPs are part of the intended federation. Community Mobile Federation is CNF's mobile programme.
Will members keep their own networks and identities?
Yes. Members will retain their brands and local networks, while mobile members retain their PLMN identities. Shared-service and membership terms will define participation.
How will this help with costs?
Shared core and IMS operation, numbering administration, engineering, facilities and recovery capacity can spread fixed costs across more networks. Local breakout can avoid unnecessary transport. The programme will evaluate the full costs, including interconnection, operations and standby capacity.
Will there be shared voice and numbering services?
Yes. CNF will develop shared IMS and telephone-numbering services covering registration, call control, number provisioning and routing, with member-specific identities and appropriate numbering arrangements.
Will it make consumer services cheaper?
Better value is central to CNF's purpose. Lower delivery costs create room for lower tariffs, improved support and greater investment. Retail offers remain each provider's decision, and no savings figure is being announced.
Will subscribers be able to roam between members?
CMF is developing member roaming with local breakout. The first controlled data pilot will demonstrate that behaviour before it becomes an available service.
How will gateway backup work?
The design will provide authorised reserve capacity through Lodestar Networks or another participant. Initial recovery may require connections to be re-established. Preserving established sessions requires further coordinated gateway state and routing.
What does a notspot deployment still need?
A suitable radio site, spectrum access, power and backhaul. CNF is building the shared infrastructure and operational support that can make more local deployments practical.
Can an ISP participate without running a mobile core?
Yes. Transport, hosting, fixed access and engineering are relevant contributions in their own right.
How will CNF be funded?
Membership and sponsorship contributions will support shared infrastructure, operating costs and development. Specific amounts, billing terms and included services will be defined later. This page does not collect payments.
