Community networks on the web

Contribution from Civil Society to Anatel’s, Brazil’s regulator, Public Consultation on simplifying the telecommunication operator’s licensing framework.

The Partnership for Public Access has released a declaration requesting to urgently get “Every Community Connected”: https://p4pa.net/2020-declaration/
The launch online session can be seen here:


cc @infrared

A paper about “Women and the Sustainability of Rural Community Networks in the Global South” written by Nicola Bidwell:
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3392561.3394649

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A recap from the Internet Society on how people from around the world worked together with them to help connect everyone using community networks.

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Proceedings report from the IID seminar: “Building Profitable and Sustainable Community Owned Connectivity Networks”.

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The new ‘Measuring Digital Development: Facts and figures 2020’ report estimates that 3.7 billion people were not connected to the Internet: https://www.itu.int/en/myitu/News/2020/12/11/08/36/Universal-connectivity-urgency-billions-offline-Doreen-Bogdan-Martin

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Mexican supreme court decision on TIC’s case determined that nonprofit and indigenous operators shouldn’t pay taxes for spectrum: https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2021/01/13/politica/pueblos-indigenas-deben-estar-excentos-del-pago-de-la-lfd-scjn/

This manual was created by IIT Bombay, bringing information about small solar-powered systems for students who live in remote rural villages and are unable to attend online classes due to power outage: https://online.fliphtml5.com/gnel/wacl/#p=1

Hey folks, I’m working on an open source web browser that mixes different p2p protocols together with the web. Kinda like Beaker, but for different protocols and more minimal.

One of my goals with it is to make it easier to author and distribute content over local (mesh) networks. Distributing apps on mesh networks usually involves a bunch of technical know-how and build tooling or some sort of server managed by tech people.

With the p2p web, folks could author small websites or apps right from within their web browsers and exchange them with others over the mesh without needing to worry about platforms or bundling or networking and all that.

Would y’all be interested in talking some time about whether we could collaborate to get some of these things into peoples hands on your networks? Or if there are use cases you can think of that we could focus on.

Source code: https://github.com/AgregoreWeb/agregore-browser

There’s an overview (more tech-focused) on it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciRWmEhL8e8

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This article on GenderIT.org discusses domestic work and women in community networks based on an experience in Brazil (available in Spanish):
Trabajo doméstico y falta de liderazgo de las mujeres en las redes comunitarias | GenderIT.org

There is an interesting chapter in this book about CN and Zenzeleni’s Response to COVID-19:

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON RELATIONALITY, PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY DURING A PANDEMIC: ZENZELENI NETWORKS IN SOUTH AFRICA by NIC BIDWELL & SOL LUCA DE TENA (p. 179)

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Good coverage of community networks on pages 22 to 24 of this discussion paper LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 (commissioned by ITU from Travis Heneveld of Geeks Without Frontiers (geekswf.org).
https://reg4covid.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FINAL_Last-Mile-Connectivity_Covid.pdf

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Thanks @clairemilne !

Call for Researchers: Policy measures for expanding internet access in India

https://cis-india.org/jobs/call-for-researchers-policy-measures-for-expanding-internet-access-in-india

"We are pleased to be inviting applications for one full-time researcher to join CIS’ new project on studying telecom and internet infrastructure policy in India. The researcher would be expected to document the regulatory and technical affordances conducive or inhibiting the proliferation of small internet service operators and community networks in India. Due to restrictions on movement, this position would be a remote one until further notice. Please read the sections below for more details about the work involved, the timeline, and the application process for this call.

Please send the following documents to gurshabad [at] cis-india.org by March 5, 2021​​ to apply for the researcher position:

  • Brief CV with relevant academic and professional information
  • Two samples of academic/professional (published/unpublished) writing by the applicant
  • A brief statement of motivation in the body of the email (maximum 400 words)

All applicants will be informed of the details of the next round(s) of decisions by mid-March."

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The Community Networks session held on 16 March at MozFest is now available online here: MozFest 2021 The Future of Community Networks - YouTube

:slight_smile:

This piece is a group reflection of a project run in Bidar, India, to set up a community mesh network facilitated by Living Labs Network and Forum, and Janastu/Servelots.

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