Building with our communities

Learn with Lodestar

Our network building guide is now available. It takes people from their first questions to a small private LTE network, with a choice of Open5GS or VectorCore and clear checks along the way.

A different welcome

I know how it feels to want to learn and be made to feel stupid for asking. When I entered telecoms hobbyist chats on Telegram in 2020, that happened to me. I want people coming into this hobby to find something better: patient explanations, room to experiment and the confidence to keep going.

Full guides, with the reasons included

The plan is to explain the whole journey: the equipment, the network design, the setup and what each part does. Guides should include diagrams, configuration examples, expected results and help with the faults people are likely to meet. I want someone following along to understand why a step matters and how to find their way when their own setup behaves differently.

From packets to a mobile network

We want to cover IP addresses and routing, mobile cores, SIMs, radio access, secure backhaul, VoLTE, SMS over IP, monitoring and recovery. Small lab exercises can make each part understandable before the pieces come together. For community deployments, the guides should also explain practical responsibilities such as spectrum access, installation, power and ongoing care.

Make this hobby easy to enter and fun to explore

Telecoms has difficult parts. A good explanation can make them approachable. I want a beginner to feel that their curiosity belongs here and an experienced builder to have something useful to share. Asking questions, trying an idea and learning from a mistake should be ordinary parts of the experience.

Change who gets to build

Lodestar is my chance to help change this industry for good. Affordable connectivity is part of that. Sharing the ability to build it is another. I want more communities to have the knowledge and confidence to create networks that serve their own needs. Seeing other people build something useful from what we share would mean as much to me as growing our own network.

Help others build their own

I want what I have learned to help other people build mobile networks for their communities. The knowledge should become easier to reach each time somebody takes the next step.

Start with a place and a need

A useful community project begins with people who would benefit from a better connection. That might be a poorly served building, a local notspot or an organisation trying to make access affordable. Understanding that need gives every later equipment and design choice a purpose.

Make the first system understandable

I want to explain a route, an address and a packet before adding more layers. A small controlled lab lets someone follow a request and its reply. A mobile core then introduces SIM identity, attachment and the data bearer. Voice comes with its own registration and audio paths. Each step should build on something the learner can already explain.

Share the reason behind the command

Copying a command can get a lab running, but understanding why it works helps when something changes. Diagrams, expected results and common fault examples make that understanding practical. I want future operators to feel capable of maintaining their network and asking good questions. My months of learning can become a starting point that helps somebody else get further.

A pathway for community builders

This is the learning journey I want to make easier: start with packets, build a small mobile system and learn how to look after it.

01 Follow a packet

Learn addresses, subnets, gateways, DNS and NAT. Draw the route and follow the reply.

02 Connect a handset

Introduce the SIM, radio, MME and HSS in a controlled lab. Follow authentication and attachment.

03 Add useful services

Trace the bearer through the gateways, then add IMS registration, call control and audio.

04 Learn to operate it

Add monitoring, protected configuration, provisioning and recovery practice. Understand the site, spectrum, power and transport responsibilities before a public trial.

Build confidence through understanding

The aim is an operator who can explain the system, find a fault and keep improving it.

Community Networks Federation

Building Lodestar showed me how much a small operator has to maintain alone. That experience helped inspire the Community Networks Federation.

Shared work, local purpose

The aim is shared engineering and infrastructure for independent mobile operators and ISPs, with members keeping their own brands and customer relationships. The mobile workstream is Community Mobile Federation, or CMF.

Common foundations

The developing design combines shared control and subscriber functions with local packet processing, alongside work on IMS and numbering support.

Make cooperation practical

Members need clear responsibilities, costs and information boundaries. Future federation roaming and recovery also need coordination and permission. I want shared work to make useful community networks easier to build and sustain.