Re: [Trisquel-users] ath9k not free?

[legimet . calc]

Sorry, but this is wrong. Debian makes an exception for firmware. If a  
firmware is free and can be built with free tools, Debian places it in the  
main repository, and the source package consists of the binary firmware along  
with the source (but it doesn't compile from the source). The real reason  
Debian hasn't put the free firmware in the repository is because the free  
firmware hasn't reached linux-firmware.git.

https://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2013/03/msg00210.html