The Open Source Wireless Coalition (OSWC) is a global partnership of open source wireless integrators, researchers, implementors and companies dedicated to the development of open source, interoperable, low-cost wireless technologies. OSWC member organizations have pioneered open source wireless research and development and are global leaders in the field. Charter organizations include: Acorn Active Media Foundation, Austin Wireless, BGWireless, CUWiN Foundation, FreeNetworks.org, Freifunk, FunkFeuer, HRFreeNet, Ile Sans Fil, Less Networks, Metrix Communication, NYCwireless, Seattle Wireless, and Wireless Lancaster.

Coalition members have extensive experience creating wireless solutions in municipalities worldwide -- from rural villages in Ghana to major metropolitan areas in Europe and the United States. OSWC members already have more than half a decade's worth of experience in wireless deployment. While OSWC members may not have the marketing and PR budgets of larger for-profit corporations, it is important to note that these organizations were often "first-to-market" and are continuing to pioneer new wireless technologies in cities like Austin, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, London, New York and Urbana-Champaign.

OSWC wants to build municipal networks that integrate "best-of-breed" open source technologies to facilitate open standards, multi-vendor interoperability, portability and roaming, innovation (e.g., new features, applications, and business models), intuitive end-user configuration, in-building support, distributed and remote-access network administration, self-powered APs, adoption of new spectrum and protocols, and an open NOC. OSWC believes that open source solutions offer the most dynamic platform for facilitating technological innovation and avoiding path dependency. Open source solutions are best suited to bridging the digital divide through their lowered costs. Finally, non-proprietary wireless solutions are a relatively untapped potential for developing vastly superior communications technologies over closed systems. As more and more communities around the globe adopt open platforms, the developer base and pace of innovation will only increase.