Community Networks: My experience, Views and African IGF 2022 report.

It has been over two years since the covid-19 pandemic first hit the shores of Nigeria and before then, a lot of things were being taken for granted, such as freedom of movement. It is generally believed that if you stay within the confines of the law and you’re careful, nothing restricts freedom of movement. But when covid hit, then I realised that movement can be limited not because you broke the law, but actually to save lives.

Also, the pandemic made me realise that the Internet has grown over the years and we can not even imagine a life without it and the advantages it brings. The pandemic exposed the reality of Internet access and having reliable connectivity. It is a thing to have Internet access that allows your email messages to get delivered and it is another to have connectivity that allows for voice or video calls such as zoom calls.

I had this reality during the pandemic as I was caught up at a remote location far from telecoms infrastructure where I couldn’t get Internet access. I was supposed to join an online mentorship program (something that I had booked for beforehand and was looking forward to) but I missed the meeting and rescheduling via email still resulted in the same issue. No connectivity strong enough to start an audio/video call, needless to say, I lost the opportunity. Then, reality dawned on me, what about the people in that community? They might not feel my pain because it is their reality, but they have been denied an advantage and opportunity for growth.

I started reading and learning about these challenges and possible ways out. Guess what I found as the most promising and affordable way out of the digital gap? Community Networks!

What are Community Networks?

Community networks are Internet connectivity networks deployed and operated by a particular community to meet the needs of the people in the community. Community networks are usually deployed via wireless technologies using unlicensed spectrum in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band of 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies.

Community networks are set up using either of the following wireless technologies:

– Wi-Max

– Wi-Fi

– Cellular networks (LTE)

– TV White Spaces

Why Community Networks?

It is an attempt to bridge the digital divide, that is, the vacuum or space between those that have access to the Internet, computers or other digital devices and those who do not have access to these things. Some people are considered to have access but other factors such as affordability, quality of service, relevance, digital literacy, security, and power are inhibiting their use.

Community networks over the years have become a very important way of bridging the digital divide to enable digital inclusion in today’s world. Understanding that community networks deliver access to remote and under-served areas with the infrastructure built, managed and used by the local community it is serving. In most cases, these are areas that are deemed not profit attractive to the telcos or Internet service providers.

Background checks on the use of community networks revealed that it is not restricted to developing countries alone but developed countries are also using it to provide access to their remote locations and to actually bridge the digital divide even to their remote or rural communities. Also, most of these countries have the support of their government to achieve these through supporting policies and regulatory frameworks guiding their implementations. [1]

Needless to say, I was invited to be a panellist during Africa Internet Governance Forum (AIGF) 2022, the session titled: Community Networks Landscape: A discussion on the comparison between the Technical and Regulatory Framework of Community Networks in Kenya and Nigeria. Video here.

Further research on the effort of the Nigerian government in bridging the digital divide and its awareness of community networks as compared to Kenya revealed that we still have a way to go as a country.

Although the government has the policy and regulatory efforts in place to bridge the digital divide such as the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) Act. The USPF is a statutory body established to address the gaps in Internet accessibility by focusing on supporting initiatives that will drive Internet connectivity to underserved and unserved areas in the country. Unfortunately, the model is tilted towards supporting the commercial businesses rather than the communities that it is meant to help if considering community networks. These market players will actually be the ones to enjoy the subsidies available through the USPF model.

There is also the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) Act, but nowhere are community networks mentioned in it. This simply means the Nigerian government is either not aware of community networks or is simply yet to see the advantage of having community networks as a way of bridging the digital divide.

Then, does it mean that there are no organisations especially not-for-profit organisations that understand the benefits of community networks to the rural and underserved regions? The answer is that there are and they are actually putting in the effort to get this done. The effort of some of these organisations to the NCC to allow the use of TV white spaces (TVWS) for community networks, resulted in the draft framework by the government on it, even though a limited number of stakeholders were consulted on developing the framework.

In line with this, a possible challenge with the draft is the issue of space squatting that might result if not properly reviewed before implementation. That is, someone or an organisation might be privileged to obtain the licence free yet keep it without using it until the limited spaces are exhausted and then decide to sell to communities that could not obtain it during the period it was being issued and are in dire need of it.

Do I assume that the government is not aware of the benefits of community networks?

Well, I will like to highlight some of the opportunities community networks have below just in case:

1. It provides lowered costs and affordable Internet connectivity to the communities.
2. It provides a solution to last-mile connectivity.
3. It gives a sense of collective ownership to these communities thus, overcoming the challenges of telcos on destruction and vandalism of equipment.
4. It helps people learn and understand more about technology beyond it being a tool for social media activity, but to be able to solve problems and enhance economic productivity.
5. It provides affordable access to digital solutions such as eLearning, e-commerce, eHealth, e.t.c.
6. It provides a platform for experimentation and innovation whereby people can demonstrate their creativity using technology.
7. It provides the leverage for the isolated communities to join the global community which also brings economic growth to these communities.
8. It encourages digital literacy and necessary skills for creating and promoting local content and services.
9. It provides networking opportunities with global communities. [2]

With contributions from both panellists and participants during the community networks landscape session at the AfIGF2022, the following recommendations among others were suggested to the Nigerian government:

1. The NCC should review with wider consultation the regulations for the operations of the TVWS to allow it to be used for the purposes of setting up community networks.
2. The government should see community networks as a possible way of solving the digital divide and encourage its wording in national digital policy strategies.
3. The government alongside its other national agencies should develop a national policy for community networks.

I add my voice to the voices of other organizations that have been advocating for Community Networks in Nigeria and that the government should support community networks and create an enabling environment for them through the necessary policies that will guide and safeguard its progress.

Quote: “Actually it is not rocket science. It is just an application of existing technology in a very innovative and beautiful way.”

– Osama Manzar, (DEF Founder and Director)