By Chimezie Godfrey
The Centre for Information technology and development (CITAD) in collaboration with other stakeholders is set to popularize community networks as catalyst tool for addressing digital divide and promoting digital inclusion in the country.
This was made known in a communique signed by the
Executive Director, CITAD, Y. Z. Yau at the end of a one day consultative meeting of Civil Society Organizations on Community Networks.
The communique noted that CITAD convened the meeting as part of its project on supporting community-led approaches to addressing the digital divide in Nigeria.
It was further noted, this is part of larger project on community networks coordinated globally by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) with support from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its Digital Access Programme (DAP).
It explained that community networks comprise telecommunications infrastructure deployed and operated by a local group to meet their own communication needs and also a communications infrastructure, designed and erected to be managed for use by local communities.
According to the communique, this communication needs can be voice, data, etc. and can be point of convergence for community to come together to address their common community problems.
It was further disclosed that the meeting which was attended by over 40 CSOs from different parts of the country was meant to sensitize them on the importance of community networks as a tool for addressing the digital divide.
The event explored the possibility of a joint advocacy for the government to develop a policy framework for the community networks, noting that at the present, the country does not have a policy for community networks, a situation that has hampered their evolution and growth.
It further said that observations were made by participants which include the fact that there is no policy or regulation to recognize community networks as distinct operators with appropriate conditions for their operations and that at the moment there are over 100 unserved or underserved communities who are digitally excluded in the country.
It was equally observed that although there are over 298,823,195 connected lines out of which 297,536,702 were said to be active in the country, only about 40% of these are connected to the internet, meaning that internet penetration in the country covers only about 40% of the population.
Other challenges noted by participants include the fact that most of the blind areas are in either hard to reach, rural communities or poor communities where affordability is a problem, hence the market mechanism is not able to provide connectivity to them since it would be unprofitable, among others.
It was noted that although the Nigerian Communication Commission is favourably disposed to midwifing the policy framework for community networks, there are still many challenges that have to be addressed for community networks to flourish and be sustainable in the country.
The Communique stressed that community networks will bring opportunities for direct access to education and health care for rural residents.
Considering the gaps so far observed, the participants resolved to pursue the popularization of community networks which they believed will serve as catalyst tool for addressing digital divide, among other challenges.
The communique said,”The participants unanimously resolved to form a CSO Coalition on Community Networks with the following objectives: Popularize community networks as catalyst tool for addressing digital divide and promoting digital inclusion in the country.
“Sensitizing their community members about the importance and benefit of community network.
“To conduct sustained advocacy for the national telecommunications regulator to come up with a national policy framework for community networks in the country.
“Support effort by all stakeholders to address the multifarious dimensions of the digital divide in Nigeria.”
It further said that the participants called on the national regulator to hasten the processes of articulating a National Community Networks Policy for the country, adding that the NCC formal regulations allowing the use of TVWS technologies to address access challenges have yet to be issued.
Other recommendations by participants include that community networks should be categorized as a different layer of operators and be given license exemption, and that community networks should be considered as start –ups and be eligible to national support systems for start ups.
Also that efforts should be made in expanding high speed network and network infrastructure to underserved rural communities and that government through USPF, NCC and NITDA should facilitate the setting up of community networks centres at rural and hard to reach areas.
Government was also urged to support an initiative that offers free or subsidized spectrums to local communities.
