Community Networks Offer a Durable Route Across the Digital Divide

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Community Networks Offer a Durable Route Across the Digital Divide

By CircleID Reporter
July 16, 2026, 9:40 am PDT Views: 147 Add Comment

Community-run internet networks could prove essential to connecting the world’s hardest-to-reach populations, according to a new report from the International Telecommunication Union and the Internet Society.

Offline barriers: Some 2.2bn people remain offline, many of them in rural villages and remote islands where conventional operators see little commercial incentive to invest. Poor infrastructure is only part of the problem. High prices, limited digital skills and a shortage of useful online services also keep communities disconnected.

The report examines ten projects across India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vanuatu. Among them are Thailand’s TakNet, India’s Wireless for Communities programme and Indonesia’s Common Room network. Their experience suggests that local participation is not a decorative extra but a practical requirement. Networks are more likely to survive when residents help design, operate and maintain them.

Sustainability tests: Yet community ownership alone is insufficient. The study identifies six tests of sustainability: financial, social and cultural, organisational, operational, regulatory and environmental. Successful schemes combine reliable technology with flexible funding, trained local staff and services that residents actually need, such as digital education, health care, agriculture and government support.

Policy matters, too. Licensing costs, spectrum restrictions and expensive backhaul connections can cripple small networks before they mature. The report therefore urges governments, businesses and civil-society groups to work together, while adapting each project to local geography and culture.

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By CircleID Reporter — CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.
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