Session
Organizer 1: Sarbani Banerjee Belur, Spoken Tutorial project, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Organizer 2: Catherine Kathini Kyalo, KICTANet
Organizer 3: Adriana Labardini Inzunza, Rhizomatica
Organizer 4: Zaman Tariq, Technical University of Sarawak
Organizer 5: Josephine Miliza, Kenya ICT Network
Speaker 1: Adriana Labardini Inzunza, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 2: Sarbani Banerjee Belur, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Zaman Tariq, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Catherine Kathini Kyalo, Civil Society, African Group
Josephine Miliza, Civil Society, African Group
Daniela Bello Lopez, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Round Table - U-shape - 60 Min
1. To mitigate the high cost of implementing community networks and the trickle down effect of connectivity cost to the consumer hindering growth of local
economies, can governments in developing areas zero rate taxation on wifi equipment?
2. Can local governments provide affordable access to way leaves for laying backhaul?
3. Are governments able to lease idle infrastructure to community networks and facilitate infrastructure sharing with commercial operators?
Connection with previous Messages: In IGF 2021, the proposer of this session proposal published a paper in the DC3 publication Community Networks: Towards sustainable funding models, Editors: Luca Belli and Senka Hadzic. The paper published by the session proposer is 'Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP): An Opportunity for Funding Rural Internet Connectivity in India'. This is a work in progress and we have been identifying local funding models for seeding community networks.
10.6
Targets: Community networks, as an affordable, complementary last mile approach to connectivity, is linking more and more communities to the internet, narrowing the digital gap towards universal access in least developed countries. Communities are exploring and using the internet to enhance their e-commerce activities either through e-commerce platforms or by exploring digital currencies in building their local economies. Internet connectivity in digitally marginalized communities is paving way to online jobs and online job sourcing, work-at-home arrangements boosting productivity, emergence of local e-commerce platforms, access to quality education through e-learning and better agricultural practices through online collaborations. Strong local economies are creating a sense of inclusivity within the larger global economic community, stakeholdership in decision making and providing local platforms from which to fund their networks.
Description:
Absence of sustainable business models in the last mile is proving to be a major roadblock for internet connectivity to sustain itself, thrive and grow in these remote rural locations. In various countries of the global South, community networks are being seeded to grow by communities based on the connectivity needs of the communities. In their initial stages of development, they were dependent on external funding, but in the due course of time, most of these networks are working with local funding models. One of the important aspects of community networks is infrastructure reuse and sharing. In the same lines as this, available funding at the village level is being explored to fund these networks to be operational. Such types of local funding models also help local economies to grow and set the stage for local vouchers, barter economy and entrepreneurship. All of these initiatives have a feedback effect on local economic development creating sustainable business models for the connectivity to thrive.
In this session we will be discussing how community networks are addressing the question of sustainability by exploring local funding models that are directly linked to local economic development. Our focus is going to be on community networks in the global South. We have identified 4 community networks that have enabled local economies to grow and thrive in Mexico, India, Kenya and Malaysia. Firstly, the session discusses the different local funding models adopted by the various organisations and the need to identify such models. This will give us a broader picture of already available funding sources that can be tapped into for seeding community networks to grow. The second part of the panel discussion is going to focus on the different local economy building activities initiated by each of the organisations. This will help us in understanding the relationship that exists between local funding models and local economic development. In the third part of the discussion we are going to understand what has been the contribution of the local economic development in developing local funding models to sustain the connectivity in the community networks as well as impact rural livelihoods.
The outcome of this session will be developed into a published blog site in each of the respective participants websites, including APC.org. Further, an online conversation with the attendees (both in-person and virtual) will help to explore and exchange around best practices
Hybrid Format: The organisers have experience in running hybrid participation. Facilitators are trained in ensuring that online attendees and speakers are acknowledged for the duration of the session.
Mechanisms such as ‘raise hand’ or type in chat will be used to allow for interaction of online participants as well as some participatory methods for onsite participants.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.