Policy and Regulation for Community Networks

Policy and Regulation for Community Networks

While much has been written about affordable technologies that communities have been able to use to design and build their own communication infrastructure, less is known about the policy and regulatory frameworks that have a significant impact on how easy it is to establish a community network, what kind of scale is possible and how sustainable it is likely to be.

Given that network operators use similar technologies around, you would be forgiven for thinking that policy and regulation governing telecommunications networks, and by extension community networks, are generally the same across countries. There are indeed many similarities but when it comes to community networks, there are critical differences in policy and regulation that can have a profound effect on the the viability of community networks.

This wiki is intended to help clarify those issues on a country by country basis with the intent of helping emergent community networks navigate the often confusing landscape of rules and regulations governing community networks. It is also hoped that the wiki will be useful for community networks to advocate for more enabling regulation, drawing on examples from other countries to inform their work.

Finally, recognising that policy and regulation is always changing and that capturing these changes across many countries is a mammoth task, we have chosen a wiki in the hope that you will join this effort to document and compare policy and regulation around the world. Note that the site is multi-lingual and if you would like to document information in another language, we encourage you to do so. You can change languages by clicking on the little flag icon above.

Association for Progressive Communication (APC) and Digital Inclusion

This wiki is supported through APC's work on Digital Inclusion. APC works for rural, remote and marginalised communities to have the opportunities, capacities and resources to achieve and shape meaningful community-centred connectivity that contributes to the strengthening of local well-being, economies and cultures. We also promote collective action to shape digital norms, policies, standards and processes that are democratic and rights-respecting.

Recent Changes to policy.communitynetworks.group
Policy & Regulatory Workshops2024/11/01 17:00Steve Song[Table] Show differences to current revisions
Workshop on Financing Mechanisms for Community Networks in Kenya2024/11/01 15:12Steve SongUpdated workshop materials Show differences to current revisions
South Africa2024/10/31 17:14Steve Song[Purchasing Backhaul] Added fibre network maps. Show differences to current revisions
Workshop on Financing Mechanisms for Community Networks in Indonesia2024/10/31 14:26Steve Song  Show differences to current revisions
Organisations involved in Public Consultations2024/10/31 13:08Steve Song  Show differences to current revisions
Table of Responses to Public Consultations2024/10/31 12:33Steve Song  Show differences to current revisions
Public Consultations and Workshops2024/10/30 12:50Steve Song[Canada] undo dtable Show differences to current revisions
Towards an Enabling Regulatory Environment for Sustainable Community Connectivity2024/10/17 16:33Steve Songadded description for CITEL workshop Show differences to current revisions
Regulating for Inclusion2024/10/17 16:29Steve Songcreated Costa Rica workshop Show differences to current revisions
Workshop on Regulation for Digital Inclusion in Colombia2024/10/17 16:24Steve Songcreated Bogota workshop Show differences to current revisions
Backhaul Profiles2024/10/17 12:34Steve Songentered basic country links for Backhaul Profiles Show differences to current revisions
Regulatory Profiles2024/10/17 12:23Steve Song  Show differences to current revisions
submenu2024/10/17 12:22Steve SongAdded new category on Backhaul Profiles Show differences to current revisions
CRASA Workshop on Evaluation of Impact of Universal Access and Service Projects2024/10/17 12:14Steve Song[Table] Show differences to current revisions
regional Steve Song↷ Page name changed from public-consultation:regional to public-consultation:policy_and_regulatory_workshops Show differences to current revisions
start.txt · Last modified: 2024/07/05 13:55
CC Attribution 4.0 International Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution 4.0 International