Software Freedom Conservancy, Banana Pi Launch the World's First OpenWrt-Specific Router

The Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) has announced the launch of the first router hardware designed specifically for use with its OpenWrt firmware project: the OpenWrt One, designed in partnership with single-board computer specialist Banana Pi.

"This is the first wireless Internet router designed and built with your software freedom and right to repair in mind," the SFC claims of the device, which is available to order now. "The OpenWrt One will never be locked down and is forever unbrickable. This device services your needs as its owner and user. Everyone deserves control of their computing. The OpenWrt One takes a great first step toward bringing software rights to your home: you can control your own network with the software of your choice, and ensure your right to change, modify, and repair it as you like."

The OpenWrt project launched in 2004 after Linksys released the WRT54G series of routers with a firmware built on GNU General Public License (GPL) licensed code — a license that required it to make its own modifications public under the same license. These releases were then used to build alternative firmware for the routers, and in the years since the project has grown to support around 50 different router platforms.

The OpenWrt One, though, is the first one built from the ground-up specifically for OpenWrt — an inversion of its origins as a project written specifically for a single family of commercial routers. Based on a Mediatek MT7981B system-on-chip and built in partnership with Banana Pi, the OpenWrt One includes two Arm Cortex-A53 cores running at up to 1.3GHz, 1GB of DDR4 memory, and 256MB of SPI flash with an additional 16MB of protected backup storage — making it, the SFC claims, "unbrickable." There's on-board dual-band Wi-Fi 6, plus one 2.5-gigabit and one gigabit Ethernet ports.

As you might expect from a router platform promising an open nature, there's also room for growth: the board includes an M.2 M-key slot for high-speed storage, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, and a mikroBUS expansion header. There's support for Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) on the 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet port, or the router can be powered by any 12V-capable USB Power Delivery (PD) supply on its USB Type-C connector; a second USB Type-C port provides access to a serial terminal.

The OpenWrt One is now available to order from the Banana Pi AliExpress store, priced at $89 excluding shipping — a claimed 50 per cent discount over a $178 standard selling price; a lower-cost board-only version, without a case, antennas, and power supply, is planned, but was not available to order at the time of writing. The Software Freedom Conservancy receives $10 from every unit sold, the organization has confirmed, regardless of version.