Community networks: a civil society perspective

Abstract

A community-based approach to solving connectivity issues is on the agenda of both researchers and developers, with useful and replicable solutions. A comprehensive review of such initiatives may serve both scholars and practitioners. The Global Information Society Watch (GISW) - a yearly thematic report series on the state of the information society from a civil society perspective - has launched its 2018 edition on a timely and interesting topic: community networks (Finlay, 2018). Authored by the Association for Progressive Communications' members and experts, the report reveals global economic, social, cultural and technical issues concerning connectivity, and replicable solutions. Community networks fill the gap left by governments and large telecommunication operators, enabling affordable access for the disconnected. The 2018 GISW includes eight thematic studies and 43 country reports. We propose an overview of these reports' key issues by selecting four regionally and thematically diverse country cases: Brazil, Kenya, India, and Portugal. Despite regional differences, a common feature of community-based connectivity solutions is the participatory approach: sharing costs and risks helps underserved communities.