What is the Battlemesh?
Battlemesh is short name for 'Wireless Battle of the Mesh' an annual event that started as a symbolic competition/demonstration around optimization of network infrustructures. It was initiated around (open) non-commercial wireless tech by people who develop and deploy it for access and joy of diverse local communities and communal events (sharing ethos of open and free systems).
What makes the battlemesh different?
Though it comes from technical practice, event also includes concerns over care for usage, communal growth and dynamics, regulations and policies, as well as work in advocacy, activism, hardware and related (techo-social) infrustructures.
What is the story of the battlemesh?
Initially started as an event to compare and improve different WiFi Mesh routing algorithms used by the various Freifunk communities, it quickly became clear that the community aspect of community-operated networks is at least as important as the technology itself - so today there is a broad mix of people from different communities sharing ther experience and know-how. These days Battlemesh is a meeting of people from various communities and organizations around the globe, who are participating or interested in decentralized networks, communcation infrastructure and their communities.