…Theme: Community Networks Key to Connecting Africa
As Internet access continues to grow in Africa, with over 450 million people now connected to the Internet, more than 60 percent of the population still remains offline. Community Networks are a key way to address this connectivity gap, says the Internet Society, a global non-profit dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet.
However, Nigeria is missing on the list of attending African nations. The global summit which started in South Africa on Monday will last till Friday this week when a strategic roadmap on deepening internet access will be unveiled.
Participants from the 13 countries in Africa which excluded Nigeria include Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, DRC, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Efforts to find out why Nigerian government and even private sector were cut off the summit failed, but an inside source at the Ministry of Communications averred that funding is becoming a serious issue at the minister and some of the agencies.
Besides, industry experts and investors representing Community Networks in Spain, Germany, Argentina, India and the United States will be attending the summit.
Community Networks are communications infrastructure built, managed and used by local communities. They provide a sustainable solution to address the connectivity gaps that exist in underserved urban, remote, and rural areas around the world. In Africa, where these gaps are more prevalent, a recent survey was able to identify 37 community networks initiatives in 12 African countries, of which 25 are considered active.
The Internet Society in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Zenzeleni Networks are currently holding the third Africa Community Networks Summit in the Eastern Cape which will end on Friday, September 7, 2018.
The Summit aims to promote the creation and growth of Community Networks, increase collaboration between community network operators in the region, and to provide an opportunity for them to engage with other stakeholders including content producers, regulators and policymakers.
The conference sessions will cover topics ranging from how Community Networks can close the connectivity gap in Africa to strategies to support local access. Discussions will also include how local networks can be used to improve delivery of basic services and inspire creation of locally relevant content and services, as well as how to create policies and regulations that enable Community Networks in Africa.
Access to spectrum is critical for Community Networks. Policy makers and regulators can play a key role in ensuring innovative approaches to making spectrum available by working with Community Networks. An Internet Society report examines the various ways that Community Networks can gain access to spectrum, including the use of unlicensed spectrum, sharing licensed spectrum, and innovative licensing.
Michuki Mwangi, Senior Development Manager for Africa at the Internet Society, explained that “Enabling communities to actually connect themselves is a new way of thinking”.
He added that “Policy makers and regulators should recognize that connectivity can be instigated from a village or a town and that they can help communities to connect themselves by providing an enabling environment with innovative licensing and access to spectrum.”
