Jason from Ham Radio 2.0 caught up with John Burwell, KI5QKX — ARDC’s 44Net Program Manager — at Dayton Hamvention 2026 to talk about 44Net Connect, a exciting new service that makes joining the worldwide amateur radio IP network (AMPRNet / 44Net) dramatically easier.
What is 44Net?
44Net (also known as AMPRNet) is the amateur radio community’s own block of public IPv4 addresses (primarily 44.0.0.0/9). Allocated decades ago specifically for ham radio experimentation, it allows licensed operators to run real IP-based services, digital modes, packet networks, mesh systems, remote stations, and more — all tied to the amateur radio spirit of innovation and experimentation.
Traditionally, getting connected to 44Net involved more complex setups like IPIP tunnels or full BGP routing. 44Net Connect changes that.
Introducing 44Net Connect
According to John, 44Net Connect uses modern WireGuard VPN tunnels to connect your devices to ARDC’s Points of Presence (PoPs) located in places like Toronto, Dallas, Frankfurt, and more coming soon. This gives you a real public 44Net IP address with minimal hassle.
Key highlights from the interview:
- Simple setup — Sign up, generate a config, and connect in minutes.
- Device agnostic — Works on Raspberry Pi, laptops, routers, cloud servers, and virtually anything that supports WireGuard.
- Secure and fast — WireGuard provides modern encryption and high performance.
- Click, Click, Connected — The goal is to remove barriers so more hams can experiment with IP networking over amateur radio.
Who Is This For?
This service is perfect for:
- Hams wanting to run remote stations or self-hosted services
- Digital mode and packet radio enthusiasts
- Mesh networking experiments (like AREDN or other high-speed data projects)
- Anyone curious about amateur radio IP networking but intimidated by legacy setup methods
John emphasizes it’s not replacing existing methods like IPIP Mesh or BGP — it’s an additional, easier on-ramp that coexists with them.
Resources Mentioned in the Video
- Official 44Net Connect Portal: https://connect.44net.cloud/
- 44Net Connect Wiki: https://wiki.ampr.org/wiki/44Net_Connect
- ARDC / AMPRNet Portal: https://portal.ampr.org
Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/AWOSPonX1iU “The New Way to Run 44Net on Any Device” – Ham Radio 2.0 at Dayton Hamvention 2026
Final Thoughts
Projects like 44Net Connect show how the amateur radio community continues to evolve. By leveraging modern tools like WireGuard, ARDC is lowering the barrier to entry for digital experimentation while preserving the core purpose of 44Net: advancing the art of amateur radio.
If you’ve been thinking about dipping your toes into ham radio IP networking, this might be the perfect time. Have you tried 44Net Connect yet? What projects would you run with a public 44Net address?
Drop your thoughts below. 73!
This post is based on Ham Radio 2.0’s coverage from Hamvention 2026. Specs and availability are current as of the video release.
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