Digital inclusion
Because of the pandemic, India has been under lockdown since March. What does this mean for rural communities, only 20% of whom have access to the internet? Community networks established by organisations like Digital Empowerment Foundation are bringing critical services to 100 villages of India.
Nontsokolo Sigcau, better known by those around her as Mama Sigcau, is one of the pillars in the community of Mankosi as well as one of the original Zenzeleni Mankosi Cooperative directors, and has been involved in the network through its multiple phases over the last seven years.
This joint statement by 20 non-governmental organisations, including APC, outlines the barriers to participation experienced by civil society during the 44th session of the Human Rights Council, and calls for measures to remedy these obstacles.
Students are facing infrastructural challenges in attending online classes, which are mandatory. The unavailability of quality access to the internet is causing massive challenges for students who are solely dependent on online platforms for education during COVID-19.
Most of the spectrum sharing to date has focused on TV white spaces, and extending it to the IMT bands, those used for mobile broadband, and hence being able to reach users' handsets, is a major advance in the advocacy work that Colnodo has been leading in Colombia for this to happen.
The five-day event combined workshops in Popayán, where representatives of community networks from throughout the region shared experiences and knowledge with the others, and a day-trip visit to the RedINC community network in the municipality of Buenos Aires, Cauca.
On 17 June 2020, APC collaborated with other organisations to submit a contribution to the draft Telecommunications Licensing Directive No. 1/2020. In the contribution, we recommend the Ethiopian Communications Authority consider international recommendations, as well as best practices in other countries both regionally and globally.
APC submits this written statement ahead of the Human Rights Council's 44th session to express our concerns about the online human rights implications of states’ measures adopted to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
Alternative Solutions for Rural Communities (ASORCOM) in Myanmar believes that building a community network is not just about internet connectivity, but also working with the community, building trust, providing support and sharing skills for their sustainable development.
Welcome to the 26th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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