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
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Top financial contributors
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Lauren
€20 EUR since Feb 2026
bgerrit
€10 EUR since Feb 2026
Dennis Paassen
€5 EUR since Feb 2026
4
Maurice
€5 EUR since Feb 2026
Deternet is all of us
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Budget
Transparent and open finances.
€
Today’s balance€40.53 EUR
Total income
€40.53 EUR
Total disbursed
--.-- EUR
Estimated annual budget
€140.00 EUR
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News from Deternet
Updates on our activities and progress.
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
Human progress has always been shaped by the tools we create. From the earliest inventions that helped us gather food and cultivate land to the advanced computational systems of today, technology has consistently expanded the boundaries of human capability. In the twenty-first century, digital technologies—cloud computing, artificial intelligence, global communication networks, and digital platforms—have become the foundational infrastructure of modern society.
However, while technological capacity has grown dramatically, the distribution of power over this infrastructure has become increasingly concentrated.
Today, a small number of corporations control the digital systems that structure communication, commerce, information access, and increasingly even labor itself. Under the model commonly described as platform capitalism, digital platforms function as global intermediaries that capture data, coordinate markets, and extract value from the participation of billions of users. These platforms benefit from powerful network effects and massive data accumulation, allowing them to consolidate influence at a scale unprecedented in economic history.
As automation expands and more sectors of the economy become digitally coordinated, dependence on these infrastructures will only deepen. If the systems that organize economic and social life remain privately owned and centrally controlled, societies risk becoming structurally dependent on a small group of corporate actors.
Many policymakers have recognized this risk and have begun pursuing alternatives through national or regional digital infrastructure strategies. Such initiatives aim to strengthen technological sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign platforms. While these efforts represent an important shift, they often remain embedded in geopolitical competition between states and economic blocs. Their primary goal is typically industrial competitiveness rather than a transformation of ownership and governance.
There is another path.
The digital commons offers a fundamentally different model for the governance of digital infrastructure. Inspired by traditions of commons governance and open-source collaboration, the digital commons treats essential digital systems not as proprietary assets but as shared resources that can be collectively built, maintained, and governed.
Under this model:
- Infrastructure is shared rather than monopolized.
- Innovation emerges from global collaboration rather than closed corporate ecosystems.
- Communities maintain local autonomy while benefiting from global knowledge networks.
The digital commons is not a theoretical concept. It already exists in many forms: open-source software ecosystems, community-owned networks, decentralized platforms, and collaborative knowledge infrastructures. These initiatives demonstrate that complex technological systems can be developed and sustained through cooperation rather than centralized control.
Yet these efforts remain fragmented and under-supported compared to the vast resources available to corporate platforms.
If digital technologies are to serve society as a whole, the next stage of technological development must focus not only on innovation but also on institutional design. The critical question is no longer simply what technologies we build, but who owns them, who governs them, and who benefits from them.
The future of digital infrastructure will likely follow one of three paths:
- A world dominated by corporate platforms.
- A world divided into competing national technology blocs.
- Or a world in which digital infrastructure is treated as a global commons.
The choice is not purely technological—it is political, economic, and societal.
Building a digital commons will require new forms of collaboration between communities, developers, institutions, and public organizations. It will require investment in open infrastructure, new governance models, and a commitment to transparency and shared ownership.
But the reward is significant: a digital ecosystem that distributes power more fairly, supports innovation openly, and ensures that the technological foundations of our societies remain accountable to the people who depend on them.
The next frontier of technological progress is not simply smarter machines or more powerful algorithms.
It is democratizing the infrastructure of the digital world.
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 ;)