Access
Access to the internet for local communities has been a challenge for decades for those working to achieve equal rights for all people, especially when dealing with groups that are affected, in one way or another, in terms of their access to such rights. In this respect there is a well-trodden pathway bringing together technological and community experiences in order to collaborate in the strengthening of such groups. Two milestones on this journey have been telecentres and community networks...
Welcome to the sixth monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks. 1. Get involved Northern Public Affairs, in collaboration with the Internet Society, is pleased to release a call for contributions to the Fall 2018 special issue of NPA Magazine focusing on emerging developments in community networks among Indigenous peoples in North America. Read more. APC internship opportunity for an African community networks project. Read more. The Internet Soci...
While an increasing number of people are now using the internet, the lack of comparable and accurate gender disaggregated data obscures the true extent of the differences in access to, and use of the internet between men and women. This toolkit has been designed for stakeholders who are interested in integrating gender into their research projects in order to better understand this gender gap i...
A new resource launched by GSMA, in collaboration with the Alliance for Affordable Internet, the World Wide Web Foundation and APC, provides an introductory guide for researchers to collect comparable and accurate data on women’s and men’s internet access and use, and to develop a fuller global picture of the digital gender gap for a wide range of audiences to inform their strategies, plans...
Some governments in the global South are devoting increasing attention to the divide between urban and rural areas, a key issue to address the fact that millions of people are becoming left out of the information society. Access to communications in rural areas is made possible mainly by big mobile phone operators, but their services are usually not affordable for people with lower incomes. Con...
This monthly column series speaks to the research project: Local Access Networks: can the unconnected connect themselves?. This research explores the topic of self-managed infrastructure, from a community-run approach as well as opens up the understanding around community networks and their possible relationship with feminism and gender. The project plans to answer the research question on...
On Friday, March 23rd 2018, the South African communications regulator (ICASA) formally gazetted Regulations on the Use of Television White Spaces spectrum. This means that, subject to type approval and to authorisation through a geo-location database, TV White Space (TVWS) wireless communication equipment can legally be used in South Africa. This is a pretty big deal. ...
In Notice 1293 published in Government Gazette No. 41261 dated 17 November 2017, the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) invited written submissions on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill. The date for submissions was extended to 31 January 2018 as a result of Notice 1390 published in Government Gazette No. 41312 dated 8 December 2017. This submission is premis...
In 2016, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) ruled that broadband Internet is a basic telecommunication service. The CRTC set the ambitious goal of ensuring 90 per cent of Canadian householders would have access to broadband speeds of 50Mbps download and 10Mbps upload. The unfortunate reality in Canada is that the remaining 10 per cent of Canadians that will be...
Last week’s post concerned how best to measure the Information Society. This week: a look at an important new source of evidence on access and use in developing countries. One of the most interesting sessions at last month’s Internet Governance Forum came right at the end. The attendance was disappointing – too many people had gone home, perhaps, or shopping – but the conten...
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2018
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