Who runs Open Signal
Buying a licence means handing over money, a callsign and an email address. This page says who receives them, what happens to them, and who to contact when something needs a human.
The short answer
Open Signal is a trading name of Gander Web Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company no. 14990387.
It is a product, not a separate company. The software, this website and the operator portal are run by the same company that invoices your licence and publishes the policies you agree to.
The company
Gander Web Ltd is a private limited company registered at Companies House under number 14990387. Its registered office is in Chesterfield, England, and the full address appears on every invoice it issues.
The register is public, and checking it is the right instinct before paying anyone online: view the company record.
Gander Web is a managed hosting and IT company — Open Signal is one of the things it builds rather than the whole of what it does. If that side is of interest, ganderweb.co.uk is the place for it. Nothing on that side is needed to use Open Signal.
Open Signal is written and run by Joshua Wood, 2E0JWR — a licensed operator, which is why the software is shaped the way it is.
Who bills you
Licences are bought from the Gander Web store, which handles the cart, the payment and the licence record. No card details are entered on, seen by or stored on this site at any point.
The annual licence at £15 covers twelve months; the lifetime licence at £45 is paid once and does not expire. You give your callsign at checkout, and it is that callsign the licence attaches to.
Receiving stays free permanently and needs no licence, no account and no payment details at all.
This page covers who takes the money. Why there is a price at all is a separate question, answered separately.
The paperwork
Published by Gander Web Ltd and hosted on its own domain rather than copied here — one authoritative version, so a stale copy on this site can never contradict the one that actually applies.
- Terms of Service
What you agree to when you buy a licence.
- Privacy Policy
What personal data is held, why, and for how long.
- Refund & Cancellation Policy
How to cancel and when a refund applies.
- Cookie Policy
What this site stores in your browser.
- Acceptable Use & Abuse Policy
- Fair Use Policy
- Data Processing Agreement
- Service Level Agreement
- Domain Name Registration Agreement
The Service Level Agreement and Domain Name Registration Agreement cover Gander Web’s hosting services. They are listed for completeness — neither is a commitment attached to an Open Signal licence.
All legal documentsGetting hold of someone
Everything goes through the Gander Web helpdesk — billing questions, a payment that will not go through, access to the free receive-only version, or anything about an account. You get a ticket reference and replies come back by email.
Licence holders also get their ticket history and any replies in the operator portal, and the update emails carry a report-a-problem link that files a ticket against your callsign automatically — the quickest route there is.
Licence holders are answered first, and the aim is a reply within two working days. That is a target rather than a contractual guarantee: Open Signal is run by one operator, so there is no overnight or weekend cover and no staffed desk behind it. What there is, is a queue that paying operators sit at the front of.
Questions people actually ask
Who am I actually buying from?
Open Signal is a trading name of Gander Web Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company no. 14990387. That company issues the invoice, takes the payment and is the party you have a contract with.
Is Open Signal a separate company?
No. It is a product of one company rather than a company of its own — there is no separate Open Signal Ltd. The software, this website and the operator portal are all run by Gander Web Ltd.
How does payment work?
Licences are bought from the Gander Web store, which handles the cart, the payment and the licence record. No card details are entered on, seen by or stored on this site. You give your callsign at checkout and it is set up for transmit once payment clears.
What happens to my licence if I stop paying?
A lifetime licence (£45) does not expire. An annual licence (£15) covers twelve months and the transmit side stops if it is not renewed — the receive-only side of Open Signal stays free and keeps working either way.
Where is my data held, and who can see it?
Your callsign, email and licence status are held to run your account. Your operator page shows only what you put on it: callsigns and locators are public by their nature — they go out over the air — but a profile card is yours to fill in or leave blank. The Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement set out what is kept and for how long.
How do I get hold of a person?
Raise a ticket on the Gander Web helpdesk. It gives you a reference and a queue rather than an email that might be missed, and replies come back by email. Licence holders are answered first, and the aim is a reply within two working days — a target rather than a contractual guarantee, since it is one operator rather than a staffed desk.
Can I get a refund?
The Refund & Cancellation Policy is the authoritative answer and is linked from the checkout page before you pay, as consumer law expects. If something has gone wrong with a payment, raise a ticket on the helpdesk and it will be looked at.
More about Open Signal
Ready when you are
Receiving is free forever and needs no account. A licence adds transmit and the live network — invoiced, not auto-charged.