Community networks newsletter: From the local to the regional, weaving networks to collectively foster meaningful connectivity

Communities driving locally led connectivity solutions get together and build links from their shared realities. By working collectively, they create synergies that strengthen each initiative. These efforts are increasingly extending to the regional level, bringing together groups from different countries who face common concerns: the skills required, the regulations needed, and the financial solutions that make community-centred connectivity initiatives sustainable.

In Asia, Africa and Latin America, valuable spaces are addressing the wide range of needs and challenges involved in achieving meaningful connectivity. The first Asian Bootcamp, following the editions held earlier this year in Latin America and Africa, the camps in Nigeria, Indonesia and Colombia are some important examples. These events gather communities to share capacity building that goes beyond technical skills to include policy advocacy, sustainability and gender inclusion awareness. In parallel, these events are spaces where new technological and financial tools, designed to respond directly to community-centred connectivity needs, are developed and shared.

In this edition you will find news about national and regional events focused on strengthening communities and their strategies, along with publications that reflect on these experiences and resources meant to contribute to them, and an agenda full of events to enrich the work in progress for the digital inclusion of communities.

Welcome to the 97th monthly round-up of initiatives and developments impacting local access networks and community-based initiatives.

Routing for Communities podcast

The last episode of our Routing for Communities Podcast is widening its journey. The episode on the Fiesta Radial del Programa de Formación de Gestores de Redes de TIC has now been included in the programme Canto de Cenzontles from Mexico. This is a great opportunity to invite you to listen to it. This episode brings the voices from communities in Latin America present in the bootcamp held In Puebla earlier this year. 

Remember you can find all the episodes of both seasons here, and you can also listen to them on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. 

We also take this opportunity to remind you about our invitation to share opinions and experiences about the first two seasons of the Routing for Communities podcast. We are doing this survey in view of our next season to be produced soon. You can share your thoughts by filling out this short form.

All are invited to join.

Community networks news and stories

• The first-ever Asia Community-Centred Connectivity Bootcamp in the Philippines took place from 6 to 10 August 2026 in Quezon City. Participants across 17 countries shared five days of collaborative learning, knowledge exchange and capacity building to strengthen community-centred connectivity and help bridge the digital divide in the region. Join and enjoy the photo journey of the experience. Read more.
• The Nigeria CCCI Bootcamp that took place in Abuja, hosted by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), brought together practitioners working on different connectivity projects across the country and created a community of practice around community-centred connectivity. The initiative was covered by local media. Read more. 
• In a milestone for digital inclusion in Kenya, Juhudi Mashinani Community Network, with support from the Wireless Planet organisation, has officially become the first community network in Marsabit County to be licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). The region has the low score of 16% on the International Telecommunication Union’s Universal and Meaningful Connectivity Index. Juhudi Mashinani means “grassroots effort” in Kiswahili. Read more.
• Radio Tosepan Limakxtum and Wiki Katat celebrated the 14th anniversary of the radio station and five years of the first Indigenous mobile virtual network operator in Latin America. Accompanied by REDES A.C., today both projects are led by young Masewalmeh women who teach the importance of organised dignity and how telecommunications can be appropriated from and by the commons. Read more. [Available in Spanish]
• The Digital Commons Conference on Infrastructures, Design and the Ethics of Autonomy was held in the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens, Greece. Adrián López Angulo from REDES A.C. and part of the LocNet team presented his work Technologies for Autonomy: Building Telecommunications by and for the Commons in Latin America, sharing the accompaniment that REDES A.C. is providing for the work of Wiki Katat in Mexico and the Red del Viento in Colombia. Read more.
• A group of organisations, activists and communities in Latin America are driving a collective reflection on the social, environmental and territorial impacts of digital infrastructure and data centres. “Decolonizing the cloud: Manifesto for digital futures from communities” was a panel that brought them together to debate extractivism, power, environmental justice and territorial conflicts associated with the development of these infrastructures in the region. Watch the video of the panel here. [Available in Spanish]
• The call for narratives on socio-environmental justice and community-centred connectivity has already shared six of the nine narratives selected. While we are preparing the last group of narratives for publication, we invite you to read the ones already published, involving different focuses and formats in sharing community-centred connectivity initiatives addressing environmental issues from countries all around the world. Read more.
• The Community Network Builder is an online platform developed to help communities to understand and evaluate variables that influence the technical and financial sustainability of their initiatives from the very beginning. It was recently launched in a webinar held in two different time zones to reach as many regions as possible. The webinars were hosted by Carlos Rey-Moreno from APC, Naveed Haq from ISOC and Jonathan Brewer, its developer, from Telco2. Learn more about the Community Network Builder here and watch the webinar here.

Gendered experiences

• Senior Citi Kwentuhan – a platform for intergenerational conversations in Tagalog – devoted an episode to community-centred connectivity initiatives in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya, in the Philippines. The episode features the work developed by a partnership between the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA) and APC, highlighting the importance of gender empowerment in designing and operating rural community networks. Watch the episode here. [Available in Filipino]
• “Women Techies: Women’s Technical Leadership in Community-Centered Connectivity Initiatives” is a training that was held in Bandung, Indonesia, led by the Common Room Networks Foundation with support from the Local Network Initiative and the Institute of Social Enterprises in Asia (ISEA). The training addressed hands-on setup and application of local servers, weather stations and solar panels while reflecting on the participation, challenges and security of women in the digital space. Watch a video on the experience here.
• In Kano, Nigeria, Women Human Rights Defenders held a training on Online Protection and Response for WHRDs. With the participation of 20 women, the experience provided a practical and participatory space to understand the evolving digital threats that WHRDs face and to strengthen their capacity to respond. The programme was coordinated by Harira Wakili and implemented by CITAD, with support from APC. Read more.

Enabling policy and regulation

• The Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) informed that the deadline for written submissions on the public consultation discussion documents on Universal Access and Universal Service and Categories of Needy Persons, Subsidy Application and Payment Modalities has been extended to 13 November 2026. The extension provides additional time to contribute substantive inputs to inform USAASA’s recommendations to the Minister Communications and Digital Technologies. Read more.
• The director of the National Spectrum Agency in Colombia highlighted the importance of alliances to strengthen community networks during his participation in the panel at the Fifth Gathering of Community Networks in Colombia, hosted by Colnodo. The panel was a space for dialogue on the role played by alliances between government entities, civil society organisations, international cooperation organisations, academia and communities to promote sustainable rural connectivity initiatives. Read more. [Available in Spanish]

Publications, research and toolkits

• The report “Networks in the Forest” released by the Nupef Institute and InternetLab brings together reflections on the challenges and pathways to ensuring connectivity taking into account not only internet access but also aspects such as quality, accessibility, infrastructure, territorial conditions and the specific needs of Amazonian communities. First launched in Portuguese, it is now also available in English. Read more.
• “Beyond Expensive Data: Can Community Wi-Fi Connect South Africa’s Rural Communities?” is the title of an academic assessment developed by Zintle Zinyanga in her studies on Information Systems Technology. Devoted to answer this question, she explores a challenge that is very relevant to many communities in South Africa: limited and expensive internet connectivity in rural areas. Read more. 
• The National Strategy for Meaningful Community-Centred Connectivity (Internet Komunitas Bermakna) in Indonesia was selected for the FAO/IAMCR Rural Communication Services Award, and was published as a result of that recognition. The initial document was developed by the LocNet initiative and partners, coordinated by ICT Watch and led by Dr. Subekti Priyadharma of Universitas Padjadjaran. Read more.
• “Technology dependency: A glossary for the twenty-first century” is a resource shared by the Non-Aligned Tech movement. It is a material used in a workshop aimed to refine and reposition Dependency Theory as a critical theory from the Global South, to explore its connections with coloniality and to deepen the analysis of dependent capitalist states, sovereignty and technology. The document is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Quechua and Hindi. Read more.
• The Cartilha de Criação Audiovisual presents practical tips to support young people and community leaders in researching, audiovisual recording and disseminating the knowledge, stories and challenges of their territories. The publication is part of the Resilient and Connected Territories Project, an initiative of the Nupef Institute, in partnership with the National Coordination of Quilombola Articulation (CONAQ) and the Interstate Movement of Babaçu Coconut Breakers (MIQCB), with the support of ISOC. Read more. [Available in Portuguese]

Events

• The 10th edition of the Estoril Conference being held in Lisbon on 29 and 30 October 2026 includes a re:publica hub that will host discussions and hands-on workshops connecting technology with ecology. Read more.
• The NetHope Global Summit is taking place virtually on 3 November 2026. Read more.
• A community validation workshop for a Responsible AI for Climate Action Framework will be held in two sessions: one on 3 November 2026 at 13 UTC (in English and Arabic) with registration here, and the other on 4 November 2026 at 16 UTC (in Spanish and Portuguese) with registration here. Read more.
• The 2026 edition of the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (LACIGF) will take place on 4, 5 and 6 November 2026 in Fortaleza, Brazil. Read more.
• The 29th edition of the Workshop para América Latina y el Caribe (WALC) will take place in the Universidad Técnica del Norte, Ibarra, Ecuador, from 16 to 20 November 2026. Read more.
• The 10th annual Indigenous Connectivity Summit is going to take place from 17 to 19 November 2026 in the historic community of Wendake of the Wendat Nation, in Québec, Canada. Read more.
• The Community Networks Conference (CNCon) 2026 is going to be held on 20 November in Seattle, USA, hosted by the Seattle Community Network and Local Connectivity Lab. The Community Network Builder will be presented there. Read more.
• Open Tech Camp Chiang Mai 2026 is a two-day unconference organised by International Media Support (IMS) and EngageMedia in Thailand. It will be held on 25 and 26 November. Read more.
• The 10th Community Network Xchange (CNX) themed “Decentralised Community Digital Public Infrastructure" will take place on 9 and 10 December 2026. Read more.
• The 21st annual Internet Governance Forum will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 14 to 18 December 2026. Read more. 
• The 14th Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum will be held onsite in Lagos, Nigeria from 13 to 15 April 2027, under the theme "Reimagining Agency, Rights and Inclusion in the Digital Age”. Read more.

Funding opportunities

• The Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) invites organisations, networks or collectives to apply to the Community and Network Fund (CNF). This fund supports organisations, networks and collectives who are focused on providing digital and holistic security to human right defenders on a local, regional and global level by providing funding for collaboration, knowledge exchange, research and the dissemination of learnings among their networks. The CNF provides grants to cover activities for a maximum period of one year. Read more.
• Banana Pi has been carrying out board sending activities for developers. Banana Pi manufacturers are inviting project proposals for free boards to better promote the development of open source hardware and support the development activities of the open source community. Find a technical description of Banana Pi One OpenWrt here and information about the invitation and call here. 
• The Rapid Response Fund for the protection of digital rights in Latin America (FRR) provides support to activists and civil society organisations facing emergencies that cannot be met by traditional funding cycles. Managed by Derechos Digitales, its function is to contribute to a free and open digital ecosystem by allocating small sums of money for activities such as participation in public policy discussions, advocacy and research development in urgent situations. The call for proposals is open continuously. 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 most recent resource published is the article “Building evidence-based insights in rural communication services and landscapes in Asia”. Through empirical research and case studies, the article explores how rural communities interact with different communication actors, media and technologies, highlighting challenges related to information access, institutional coordination and community participation. 

Remember you can collaborate with the repository, contributing materials, publications, training toolkits or other capacity-building resources – in any language – devoted to and/or developed by organisations and community-led connectivity initiatives. Your contributions are very welcome.

Find out more!

This newsletter is part of the Local Networks initiative (LocNet), a collective effort led by APC and Rhizomatica in partnership with grassroots communities and support organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims to directly support meaningful community-centred connectivity initiatives, while contributing to an enabling ecosystem for their emergence and growth. 

Previous editions of this newsletter are available here.

Invite others to subscribe to this monthly newsletter here!

One more thing! If you have comments about the newsletter or information relevant to the topic that you would like us to include in the next edition, please share it with us here.