Preface: Community Networks: Read, Learn and Be Inspired
| Autor | Anriette Esterhuysen |
| Páginas | 17-19 |
17
PREFACE
Community Networks: Read, Learn and
Be Inspired
by Anriette Esterhuysen
For the last two years, people all over the world, including those
with privilege and power, have had their plans, expectations and
assumptions scrambled by the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.
In a sea of uncertainty, one thing was clear: affordable, reliable
access to the internet was a lifeline. “Digital inequality”, the global
challenge frequently discussed in hyperconnected rooms by
hyperconnected people in somewhat abstract terms, became
much more real and relatable.
For the people who build community networks and work in them, lack
of access has never been abstract. They understand what it means not
to have access, and, most importantly, they understand how to create
access in a way that is meaningful to the people who use it, and that
builds communities by strengthening collaboration and generating
opportunities that ultimately help achieve sustainable development.
Evidence matters, and there are two sets of evidence that have helped
increase awareness of the power of community networks. The first:
growth of connectivity through traditional models, such as mobile
networks, is slowing down, in spite of increased coverage. According
to the GMSA the percentage of the world population using mobile
internet jumped from 32% in 2014 to 46% in 2018, an increase of 14%
(or 1.15 bn people). But from 2019 to 2020 this increase slowed down
to 2% (or 0.2 bn people).
1
Data also suggest that even when people
live in areas with mobile data coverage, they often do not make use of
it because it is too expensive, or because they do not have the needed
devices, or they are not sure how they would benefit from using the
internet. The second: community networks work! And they work well,
achieving more than just providing access to the internet. They build
skills, partnerships, leadership, and local ownership. They give people
a sense of agency and control by approaching access to the internet
and telephony in a way that responds to local needs and opportunities.
1 Page 10, “The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity report 2021”, GSMA –
wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-State-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-Report-2021.pdf>.
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