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FAQ for Carriers (MNOs)

Written for mobile network operators evaluating Fairwave - as technology, as a non-threat, and as a potential offload or neutral-host partner.

Q: Is Fairwave a roaming threat?

No - and the architecture makes that true, not just policy. There is no SEPP, no GRX/IPX interconnect, no S6a/S8 peering with other PLMNs, and no settlement/charging layer (see roaming-future). A Fairwave node serves only its own HSS subscribers on its own PLMN. Nothing in v0.1 or the M0–M6 roadmap lets a Fairwave node attach subscribers of another operator without an explicit hosted-identity arrangement on that operator's own core.

Q: Could it cause interference with our network?

Only if deployed illegally. Fairwave ships RF-disabled; arming requires the three-gate process (country code + license acknowledgment + allow-list, ADR-0008). A compliant deployment runs in licensed, shared, or experimental spectrum the operator actually holds - at which point interference questions are the operator's, not the software's. The default lab build emits nothing.

Q: What is the realistic use case for a carrier?

Three honest ones:

  1. Offload / neutral host: a Fairwave-compatible box serving your SIMs - the node hosts your subscribers' identities in a local HSS under an MVNO/MVNE-style contract, with local breakout. This is the supported path, and it is how community networks can interconnect lawfully today.
  2. Enterprise private networks: your enterprise customers get a private PLMN slice on-site; you get the integration work, they get ownership of the network.
  3. Research/education: universities and labs running controlled experiments in test spectrum.

What we do not propose: Fairwave boxes masquerading as your network, or backhauling your subscribers' traffic over third-party mesh fabric without contract.

Q: What would it take to interconnect Fairwave boxes lawfully?

See roaming-future for the honest list. In brief: contracts and settlement (commercial), SEPP or GRX-certified interconnects (infrastructure), HSS/UDM federation (engineering), LI and data-protection compliance (legal), and real interop testing (process). Fairwave documents the integration surface (Open5GS-standard S6a/API; in 5G mode the free5GC CHF already emits per-UE TS 32.297 CDRs, consumed for fair-use metering) so a partner operator can build against it - but we will not ship inter-operator signalling before a licensed partner exists.

Q: Is the EPC production-grade?

Open5GS is mature open-source EPC software widely deployed in private networks; Fairwave adds the control plane, provisioning, and gating around it. Production hardening is the explicit content of milestones M4–M6 (retention enforcement, HA/SPOF review, security polish). A carrier-grade deployment should treat M6 as the earliest gate, and even then review the threat model with their own security team.

Q: What about subscriber data protection?

  • The core logs no cleartext IMSI; session records use truncated SHA-256 hashes (ADR-0010).
  • SIM credentials are vault-encrypted at rest (ADR-0006); nothing is shared with us - there is no telemetry home, no cloud dependency.
  • If a carrier uses Fairwave as a vendor, their DPA with the community operator governs; the software's defaults are documented in privacy.

Q: Do you plan to compete with MNO services?

No. Fairwave targets the space carriers have no economic reason to serve: sub-building, indoor, low-density private cells, test labs, and community networks. The mesh is confined to one administrative domain; multi-operator settlement is explicitly not on the roadmap without a partner.

Q: How do we evaluate it safely?

  1. Run the no-RF quickstart - nothing leaves the laptop.
  2. Inspect GET /v1/tx/arm to see gate state; confirm the default build cannot emit.
  3. Review the ADRs, threat model, and SBOM/cosign verification (release signing).
  4. In your lab, run a test PLMN in a shielded or virtual setup before any over-the-air test in licensed spectrum.