Community networks newsletter: From last to first mile connectivity where communities are shaping technology hands-on

The way we name things influences how issues unfold. The words we choose to describe a fact influence how it is conceived, resourced and forecast going forward. When talking about connectivity, this also becomes clear. Aiming to reach "last mile" connectivity starts on one edge of the network, where infrastructure runs out and communities are framed as the final link to be reached – leaving them on the end of decisions made far from their daily lives. Is there really a first mile and a last mile?

There is also a spatial sense to what it means to put people at the centre. Again, is there a centre and a periphery? The centre must be where communities' hands-on engagement with technology happens – where communities are learning, testing, evaluating, developing, deploying and refining what is technically, environmentally and socially possible and desirable for them.

This was the spirit behind a recent presentation at the AI Global Dialogue that put communities' perspectives front and centre; it is also the spirit of the recent Asian Bootcamp for Community-Centred Connectivity, and of most of the initiatives and upcoming events featured in this edition – led by organisations and communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America, from the Global Majority, working toward meaningful access to digital technologies for those who need it most and remain unconnected.

Welcome to the 95th monthly round-up of initiatives and developments impacting local access networks and community-based initiatives.

Routing for Communities podcast

While working on a new season of our podcast, we are reviewing the key questions that guide our reflections on community-centred connectivity. This led to our second season, which was devoted to answering some of these questions based on the stories shared in the first season. This process gave us an opportunity to revisit reflections and stories.

We invite you to join us in reviewing, relistening and reflecting together on the thread that leads us to move forward in strengthening community-centred connectivity. Find these episodes and also the stories that inspired them here. And remember you can also listen to them on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. 

Join us!

Community networks news and stories

• Against the backdrop of the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, Rebecca Ryakitimbo’s argument was assertive. There is no inclusive AI without inclusive connectivity: communities are the first mile to address for digital development, not the last, looking deeper at what meaningful AI inclusion looks like when many communities still lack affordable and reliable connectivity. Read more.
• In Quezon, Philippines, the first-ever Asia Community-Centred Connectivity (CCC) Bootcamp 2026 provided more than 40 participants from the Philippines and other Asian countries with five days of learning, sharing and collaboration, reviewing technology deployments, policy and regulations, and social impact technical skills. Follow some beautiful coverage here and enjoy the highlights gathered in this video.
• In Kenya, from smallholder farms to the local markets, the Athi Community Network CBO considers whether community networks and AI could strengthen Kenya's domestic food traceability. They conclude that existing infrastructure could be used for more than providing internet access: community networks could become the community data layer supporting traceability. Read more.
• As part of the Rural Broadband Connectivity Project in Northern Uganda, the Women of Uganda Network completed the full deployment of broadband infrastructure across various locations in Oyam District, with the support of the Internet Society Foundation in partnership with netLabs!UG. Read more.
• Commemorating the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, observed annually on 9 August, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) highlighted their commitment to leverage initiatives that benefit Indigenous peoples and communities worldwide. Read more.
• Connecting the Unconnected is a project led by Colnodo with support from the European Community's Global Gateway. Seven communities have developed their networks and 350 people have been trained. Watch a video with updates from the experience here. [Available in Spanish]
• The Common Room Networks Foundation hosted a climate-focused event in Bandung, Indonesia, that included a workshop on Climate Data Standardisation led by the director of the Climate Change Agency. The session explored how meaningful connectivity can support adaptive agriculture, water and energy monitoring, environmental sensing and community climate resilience. Read more. [Available in Bahasa]
• Community-centred connectivity practitioners across South Africa are bringing local perspectives into national digital policy discussions. As the country reviews its Electronic Communications Act, participants in the South Africa School for Digital Policy (ZASDIP) are advancing proposals on spectrum, licensing and other reforms to help create a more enabling environment for community networks. Read more.
• Asking how internet access changes people’s lives, 48percent.org gathered stories of impact from Nigeria, South Africa, Mexico, the Netherlands and Kenya to find common threads in them. The stories of communities and organisations deploying technology, building skills and strengthening communities help to identify the moments in which connectivity turns into meaningful digital inclusion. Read more.
• In the Amazon region of Brazil, a workshop trains youth “multipliers” for safe and community-based use of the internet. Representatives from villages and communities in the Reserva Extrativista Tapajós-Arapiuns participated in the Sabedoria Digital (Digital Wisdom) workshop, promoted by the Projeto Saúde e Alegria in partnership with the Rede Conexão Povos da Floresta. Read more. [Available in Portuguese]
• Mexico’s highest electoral court overturned a sanction against a community radio station figure, recognising that sanctions against these media can have particularly significant chilling effects on their work, credibility and relationships with communities. REDES A.C., who provided support on the case, highlights the ruling as an important precedent for community communicators facing attempts to silence their participation in public debate. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
• We extend a renewed invitation to visit the first group of selected narratives from the call launched by the LocNet initiative to address the socio-environmental impacts of technology, and the ways in which communities are taking ownership of technology to defend them. The first group features a news report, an illustrated story and a poem committed to this aim. The next group is coming soon. Read more.

Gendered experiences

• The Roots of Connectivity project is an initiative coordinated by Intervozes with support from the Local Networks initiative that helps communities in the Northeast Brazil to build and manage their own internet networks. Through an exchange of letters, two women explore how traditional practices converge with external digital technologies in ways that are meaningful to their realities. Read more.
• The Agenda-WINNIG project led by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has trained 848 women and girls in Kano and Bauchi states on digital literacy, online safety and digital hygiene as part of efforts to bridge the gender digital divide in Northern Nigeria. An overview of the experience was compiled by those participating in the training. Read more.
• After the publication of Beyond Resilience: The Rising Cost of Digital Exclusion for Women in the Global Majority, in which the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP) examines how digital exclusion continues to undermine opportunities for women across low- and middle-income countries, they are now releasing the first five of 10 country reports in the series. The reports from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Uganda, Ghana and Mozambique reveal how exclusion is experienced differently across national contexts. Read more

Enabling policy and regulation

• The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies of the South African Parliament has extended by one month the deadline for written submissions on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, providing members of the public, stakeholders and interested parties with additional time to propose amendments and make their views known. The new deadline is Monday, 21 September 2026. Read more.
• The Vice Minister of Komdigi-Communication Authority in Indonesia defined the Policy Brief on the Regulatory Sandbox for Community-Centred Connectivity Initiatives he received from Common Room as “a valuable input so that innovative community-based broadband services can be tested, developed and legally recognised through a collaborative, cross-sectoral approach.” He also expressed that this step aligns with the planned 2026 Rural ICT Camp in Maros, South Sulawesi, that will be held later this year. Read more. [Available in Bahasa]
• A group of social organisations including Instituto Nupef, Intervozes, Coletivo Digital and the Internet Society Brazil Chapter jointly filed a public civil action in the Federal Court questioning the legality of the replacement of a standard from 1995 that established the regulation of internet access, arguing that the end of the rule could generate higher tax burdens for users and affect the competitiveness of smaller operators. Read more. [Available in Portuguese]
• Colombia formalised the National Connectivity Plan for and by Indigenous Peoples 2026-2036, a strategy that recognises connectivity as a collective right and a tool to strengthen autonomy and self-governance. The plan is the result of a dialogue process between the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, the National University of Colombia and the Indigenous organisations that make up the National Communication Commission of Indigenous People. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
• A new study from Northumbria University argues that community-led networks could fill the gap of universal connectivity suffered by rural Sub-Saharan Africa – despite decades of market liberalisation – if regulators let them. Examining reforms at Nigeria's Communications Commission through Elinor Ostrom's institutional theory, the research proposes a viable path forward without new legislation. Read more.

Publications, research and toolkits

• Open Knowledge Foundation has recently launched a prototype to monitor low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite expansion, based on a baseline study of how satellite internet was rolled out in six countries. Announcing in advance that a new and more stable resource will be released soon, they also invite you to contribute comments and suggestions relevant for the team behind the initiative. Read more.
• A new Research ICT Africa report examines digital connectivity in the Southern African region, interrogating common narratives about systematic underinvestment, where it is most pronounced, and how it intersects with existing socioeconomic inequalities. The publication finds that the narrative is partially valid but overstated, pointing less to a shortage of capital and more to a combination of uneven investment distribution, affordability barriers, regulatory dynamics and broader structural constraints. Read more.
• “To what extent do community-focused Internet Service Providers leverage Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) technologies, and what steps are needed to encourage broader FOSS adoption to enhance internet accessibility, affordability, and the sustainability of these community-focused connectivity services?” Departing from this research question, a study developed by Connect Humanity was recently launched, focused on the Brazilian context. Read more.
• Bringing together recommendations from across the APC network, “How to get away from Big Tech?” is a resource that offers practical alternatives for email, cloud storage, collaborative tools, messaging, social media, hosting and digital security. It also recognises the structural barriers that make technological autonomy difficult, and the collective approaches needed to build more open and rights-respecting digital ecosystems. Read more.
• What if you could 3D-print your own working microwave antenna? This piece from Antenna Test Lab puts eight 3D-printed horn antennas to the test, showing that with common materials, some surface preparation and conductive paint, it is possible to build practical antennas at home. Read more.

Events

• The World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF-26) will take place from 2 to 4 September 2026 in Nassau, The Bahamas, convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Read more.
• The very highly anticipated Global Gathering is around the corner. It will take place from 4 to 6 September in Estoril, Portugal. Find an updated schedule of activities organised by APC members and partners, as well as related resources on the key focus areas of the event. Read more.
• Indonesia’s 2026 Rural ICT Camp will be held this year on 14 to 18 September in Maros, convened by Common Room. Read more. [Available in Bahasa]
• After the unexpected cancellation of the in-person event in Zambia, the RightsCon Continues Summit is a 24-hour global online event that will bring together the RightsCon community. The Summit will take place on 22 September 2026. Read more.
• Festival Compartilha, convened by ARTICLE 19, was born from the urgent need to imagine and build alternative futures for the internet and communication. This year's edition will take place from 23 to 25 September in São Paulo, Brazil. Read more. [Available in Portuguese]
• Digital Commons: Infrastructures, Design, and the Ethics of Autonomy is an international conference exploring how digital infrastructures shape contemporary life. It will take place from 8 to 10 October in Athens, Greece. Read more.
• The NetHope Global Summit is taking place 26 to 29 October 2026 in Amsterdam and virtually on 3 November 2026. Read more.
• The 2026 edition of the Mozilla Festival will be held in Barcelona from 28 to 30 October 2026. Read more.
• The 10th annual Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS) is scheduled to take place from 17 to 19 November, 2026 in the historic community of Wendake of the Wendat Nation, for the first time in Québec, Canada. Read more.
• The 21st annual Internet Governance Forum will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 14 to 18 December 2026. Read more

Funding opportunities

• Numun announced a multi-year, core, flexible funding opportunity supporting initiatives, collectives, groups and organisations advancing feminist tech activism across the Larger Majority World. The initiative offers grants within a wide range over two years, to “Seed, Grow & Sustain” depending on whether the project is emerging, scaling or sustaining long-term impact. The deadline for applying is Sunday, 6 September 2026, 23:59 anywhere on Earth (UTC -12). Read more. 
• The third edition of the ITU Academy and United Nations University-MERIT online course “Causes and Consequences of the Digital Divide” is open for receiving applications. This online training, instructor-led and free for selected participants, is funded by the Global Gateway. Applications will be received until 13 September 2026. Read more.
• Funding opportunities were announced by the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as investment to support tribal and native communities to expand broadband access and advance digital equity. The call for applications for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and the Native Entities Grant Program (NEGP) will be open until 17 September 2026. Read more.
• The CRTC's Broadband Fund fourth call for applications is open for projects that help improve access to reliable high-speed internet services in underserved communities across Canada. New deadline to apply: 15 October 2026. Read more. 

Community networks learning repository

The learning repository is a collective online space designed to store and exchange training resources, with a focus on materials created by and for community networks. 

The platform also features research focused on capacity-building experiences led by community-centred connectivity initiatives. A thesis work on "Telecommunications for autonomy" was recently published, based on the experience Radio Tosepan Limakxtum and Wiki Katat, in the Sierra Norte, Puebla, Mexico. The research is available in Spanish.

Share with your communities the invitation to collaborate with the repository, contributing materials, publications, training toolkits or other capacity-building resources – in any language – devoted to and/or developed by community-led organisations and connectivity initiatives.

Find out more!