Deternet
Decentralized, open source and locally maintained digital infrastructure
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Become a bronze sponsor with a monthly donation of 100 EUR and get your logo on our sponsor page at deternet.org. You will receive an invoice after... Read more
€100 EUR / month
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Become a silver sponsor with a monthly donation of 250 EUR and get your logo on our sponsor page at deternet.org. You will receive an invoice after... Read more
€250 EUR / month
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Become a bronze sponsor with a monthly donation of 500 EUR and get your logo on our sponsor page at deternet.org. You will receive an invoice after... Read more
€500 EUR / month
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Become a bronze sponsor with a monthly donation of 2000 EUR and get your logo on the sponsor page and the front page at deternet.org. You will rece... Read more
€2,000 EUR / month
Top financial contributors
bgerrit
€10 EUR since Feb 2026
2
Lauren
€10 EUR since Feb 2026
Dennis Paassen
€5 EUR since Feb 2026
4
Maurice
€5 EUR since Feb 2026
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Applied for Non Profit(Stichting)
On the 16th of February 2026 Deternet applied for a non profit (Stichting) status in the Netherlands at Broekema Notaris. Since, they were interested in...
Published on February 17, 2026 by Dennis Paassen
About
Disclaimer: Most hyperlinks aren't working yet, we are in heavy development
Whitepaper: Deternet Whitepaper
Whitepaper: Deternet Whitepaper
Problem statement
The so-called "End Game" of BIG TECH refers to a "closed-loop" ecosystem in which they supply the chips and the devices (Hardware), the cloud infrastructure (Hosting), the energy required to operate it (Power), the infrastructure that interconnects everything (Telecommunication), and the AI models and applications (Software) necessary to automate any conceivable workflow. This arrangement will essentially render it impossible for any other competitor to penetrate the market, ultimately leading to the establishment of a natural monopoly. Currently, not all of these sectors are unified under a single firm; however, each one is actively developing, acquiring land, infrastructure, and production facilities to establish this vertically integrated ecosystem, wherein they control all components of the stack: Hardware, Software, Telecommunications, Hosting, and Power.
What can be accomplished with this infrastructure? It appears evident to any major technology company. The ultimate goal or aspiration for these corporations and their shareholders is to establish a vertically integrated AI ecosystem or autonomous central nervous system that links personal data with software, applications, physical hardware, robots, vehicles, and all Internet of Things devices. The era in Silicon Valley characterized by the phrase "There is an app for it" is coming to an end. Rather than engaging with the digital realm through separate applications, you will interact solely with an AI interface that manages all tasks for you in the background. Again this creates a system in which they expect any other organization will integrate in and no user to ever need to leave it. Basically forming a closed loop in which they Produce the hardware -> Train the models themselves -> Power the applications -> The applications generate distribution and data -> The new data will improve again the next generation of models.
It is not hard to imagine that first they will let other business use their ecosystem but eventually create cheaper alternatives such that they can control any market with their vertical foundation. What will happen then to society ? Basic income ? such that the money (hence power) still flows back to these corporations in a closed loop. No, we need to do something different
Mission
The Deternet initiative aims to create a decentralized, open source, and community-owned digital infrastructure (Hardware, Software, Telecom, Hosting, Power) on a global scale. It strives to accomplish this by providing resources, knowledge, and support to a global network of interconnected local hubs. Each hub will be responsible for developing and maintaining the infrastructure within its respective region. Ultimately, each hub is anticipated to educate and assist the public in making the transition to open-source alternatives in their digital lives. In other words, the ecosystems we create in the world should be more like an open internet protocol for anyone to use and contribute to. One can compare this to HTTPS, IPFS, DNS etcetera all protocols that are open and universal and not locked behind some BIG TECH corporation.
Now, most of the digital infrastructure is already here, however it is in the hands of a few. Hence, our goal will definitely be to also convince established corporations to join the project. This won't come easy, but if if the project gains enough traction and a decentralized movement has won over the centralized one then they might have to choose between joining or becoming obsolete ;)
Note!
- Check out our global hub map to find out which hub is responsible for your region. Once found, there will be a link to the open collectives funding page for that hub e.g Deternet Groningen.
Organization
At the moment, Deternet is mainly set up to act as a Fiscal Host to get new hubs started as quick and smooth as possible. Fiscal hosts enable Collectives (local hubs in this case) to transact financially without needing to be legally incorporated. That means handling the accounting, taxes, invoices, contracts etcetera, while your hub stays in full control. Eventually, it is up to each hub to stay a collective or to become their own fiscal host if they receive an official non profit status. If you are interested in joining Deternet as your hub's fiscal host then please apply here -> Deternet Fiscal Host
Donations
Considering this technological disruption, it appears that ultimately, the only individuals capable of earning a livelihood will be those who own the digital infrastructure. Therefore, our project is volunteer only (no paid contributors) and will remain free as in lunch and free as in speech for eternity ;). However, if you want to give a volunteer a tip for any kind of service they helped you with then that's always appreciated of course ;)
Currently, in addition to serving as a fiscal host for its hubs, Deternet will allocate donations towards projects that either encompass multiple hubs or fall outside the financing capabilities of a single hub. One might consider initiatives such as undersea and transatlantic cables, dark fiber cables, internet exchange points, data centers, points of presence, among others. Just as for smaller hub projects, these larger projects get their own funding page. In this way the community can decide decide where it will be best to allocate the resources at a particular moment in time.
Day to Day Expenses
- Hosting a Deternet Summit each year (Even though there will be a event page for that as well)
- Domains & Emails
- Our self hosted websites, forums, blog, documentation page
- Merchandise, stickers, flyers, t-shirts, etc.
- Legal expenses for our Non-Profit
- Administrative expenses that might come up
- Travel sponsorship for contributors for conferences, meetups or lectures at educational institutions.
Ways to contribute
- Human Labor: In all honesty next to financial contributions we mainly need human labor. The largest expense of a digital infrastructure is not the materials themselves but the people that build it. All the cables that need to be laid, racks that need to be build, cell towers that need to be put up and installers installing networks and servers in people's homes. Hence, the best way to contribute is look for a hub in your region, go to one of their meetings and before you know it you will be part of the crew ;)
- Space: If you are an owner of a space that could be used for a hub, a point of presence, storage unit or anything else please let us know! If you already know to which region you want to donate your space then simply contact the hub straight away. If not let us now at Deternet Spaces and we will make sure it ends up in the right hands.
- Physical Goods: We also need lots of hardware, tools and machines. Yes we can buy this with financial contributions but why would we do that if we can get these items straight away. We are all about recycling and giving old hardware a new life and purpose ! Now, hardware is mainly donated straight to the hub that needs a particular item. Simply go to their website and they will have a section that will state what hardware/tools they are looking for at this moment.
- Spread the word: Provide guest lectures at educational institutions. On our documentation page there is enough information you can use to inspire others about the project.
- Setup a Hub: Reach out to us if you want to setup your own hub in your city or region!
Online Community
If you want to get involved and stay up to date please join one of our open source social pages ;)
Donation Policy
- We don't accept donations from any proprietary centralized tech corporation nor governmental institutions. This is to make sure to keep the original spirit of open source, which emphasizes freedom and community-driven development. Finally, government involvement could lead to increased regulation and control over open source projects.
- Individuals buy their own hardware. We don't use funds to sponsor people with private hardware, we only provide them with our time and knowledge. All funds go to public infrastructure investments that multiple people/regions make use of.
- Unfortunately, there does not exist an open source alternative for money transfer at this moment, because well it involves money ;) The closed centralized projects we use at this moment are Stripe for Credit Card and SEPA(Bank Transfer) and Paypal. In the future we also hope that more payment methods become available to make it as accessible as possible.
Hope to see you join the project in any shape or form such that together we can shape the world into a collaborative and open society
Cheers, now let's get to work ;)
Cheers, now let's get to work ;)