According to Athabasca, a 2023 study by the International Telecommunication Union, about 2.6 billion people are not connected to the internet. This is a shocking figure.
There are many reasons for this, including poverty, reliability of service, access to linguistically and culturally relevant materials, free time, access to equipment and training. But perhaps the most debilitating barrier is access to network infrastructure.
One way communities overcome network access barriers is to create networks themselves. A digital network built and operated by the people who use it is often a collective response to a systemic problem.Communities are building and operating their own broadband networks all over the world. Developing network literacy
One of the major challenges that arises when people want to build their own broadband networks is ensuring that community members have the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities involved. Many different types of information have to be gathered and strategically navigated.
This is the problem we set out to solve with the Community Network Roadmap. We came together as a small team of engineers, social scientists, and designers to create a document that helps non-experts build community-driven Helps in designing, building and maintaining broadband networks.The elements of the network need not only to be built and installed, but also to be maintained, repaired, and replaced over time. These elements include both technical and social infrastructure such as key personnel and community relations.
The Building and Maintenance Roadmap is based on research evaluating the success strategies of community networks in Argentina and Mexico. Team members also had experience building networks in North America and working with community network builders around the world.
In the roadmap, we wanted to emphasize two strategic priorities: construction and maintenance.Building involves the immediacy and complexity of getting the network off the ground, while maintenance considers planning for long-term network stability. We designed the roadmap using visual strategies for clarity – for example, we strategically Have separated the layout with color coding, using yellow for "build" and purple for "maintenance".
This design approach improves understanding and also anticipates future challenges related to both the initiation and maintenance phases of the community network lifecycle.
Inclusive Information DesignInformation design can organize complex information in more accessible and inclusive ways. We organized the content structurally and visually to provide a clear, accessible, easy to navigate, and usable document for the widest audience possible.The roadmap emphasizes community efforts aimed at inclusion, accountability, group decision making and long-term planning. And it also presents the technical steps and steps required to build a network in an accessible way – including local needs assessment, network mapping, equipment choices and deploying a pilot network.
The publishing structure, guided by information design principles, breaks complex blocks of information into manageable pieces using accessible design features such as cross-referencing and signposting strategies. The Roadmap is a quick and ready resource for learning and training. Tapping Community Knowledge
Another key strategy identified in the roadmap is how to aggregate technical knowledge among community members dealing with the network project.The roadmap lays out strategies for documenting and sharing problem-solving and problem-solving resources, so that the knowledge of the emerging community network is not lost.
Community networks in different contexts will present unique opportunities and challenges. In creating this tool we used research and experience collaborating with community networks in rural Mexico and Argentina, the Philippines, and First Nations and Indigenous groups in Canada and the United States. Our hope is that the roadmap will provide both short- and long-term will provide ideas that a wide range of communities will find helpful in their efforts to overcome connectivity barriers.
Network planning and maintenance
The Community Network Roadmap is designed for communities in the early stages of considering a community network, as well as for those who already have a network in place and need resources for troubleshooting and maintenance.For communities in the early stages of thinking about community networks, the Roadmap provides an in-depth and research-based explanation of the many different issues, dimensions and considerations that arise in the process of building and maintaining community-driven broadband networks. Can happen.
For example, community relations and accountable decision-making processes are as important as network maps and device choices.
Furthermore, communities launching networks often ignore long-term issues such as succession planning, network expansion, equipment upgrades, and changing local needs. Bringing in medium and long-term ideas early on can make it easier to manage growth and change. The roadmap can also be used as a resource for troubleshooting specific problems.A global community resource
The Roadmap is designed with a DIY approach in mind – it's a document that we hope will help communities achieve connectivity goals using the resources they have. Feedback from communities will help us update and adapt it to better reflect the needs of those who use it. Connectivity plays a central role in helping individuals and communities today fully realize citizenship and belonging. How we move about in everyday life and participate politically and socially, and how we access educational opportunities, all now unfolds, at least in part, through digital networks.
Being excluded from digital communications often equates to being excluded from society.When communities are able to build and maintain broadband networks in accessible and reliable ways, they enjoy all the opportunities and benefits of digital communications. (talk) grs
GRS
There are many reasons for this, including poverty, reliability of service, access to linguistically and culturally relevant materials, free time, access to equipment and training. But perhaps the most debilitating barrier is access to network infrastructure.
One way communities overcome network access barriers is to create networks themselves. A digital network built and operated by the people who use it is often a collective response to a systemic problem.Communities are building and operating their own broadband networks all over the world. Developing network literacy
One of the major challenges that arises when people want to build their own broadband networks is ensuring that community members have the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities involved. Many different types of information have to be gathered and strategically navigated.
This is the problem we set out to solve with the Community Network Roadmap. We came together as a small team of engineers, social scientists, and designers to create a document that helps non-experts build community-driven Helps in designing, building and maintaining broadband networks.The elements of the network need not only to be built and installed, but also to be maintained, repaired, and replaced over time. These elements include both technical and social infrastructure such as key personnel and community relations.
The Building and Maintenance Roadmap is based on research evaluating the success strategies of community networks in Argentina and Mexico. Team members also had experience building networks in North America and working with community network builders around the world.
In the roadmap, we wanted to emphasize two strategic priorities: construction and maintenance.Building involves the immediacy and complexity of getting the network off the ground, while maintenance considers planning for long-term network stability. We designed the roadmap using visual strategies for clarity – for example, we strategically Have separated the layout with color coding, using yellow for "build" and purple for "maintenance".
This design approach improves understanding and also anticipates future challenges related to both the initiation and maintenance phases of the community network lifecycle.
Inclusive Information DesignInformation design can organize complex information in more accessible and inclusive ways. We organized the content structurally and visually to provide a clear, accessible, easy to navigate, and usable document for the widest audience possible.The roadmap emphasizes community efforts aimed at inclusion, accountability, group decision making and long-term planning. And it also presents the technical steps and steps required to build a network in an accessible way – including local needs assessment, network mapping, equipment choices and deploying a pilot network.
The publishing structure, guided by information design principles, breaks complex blocks of information into manageable pieces using accessible design features such as cross-referencing and signposting strategies. The Roadmap is a quick and ready resource for learning and training. Tapping Community Knowledge
Another key strategy identified in the roadmap is how to aggregate technical knowledge among community members dealing with the network project.The roadmap lays out strategies for documenting and sharing problem-solving and problem-solving resources, so that the knowledge of the emerging community network is not lost.
Community networks in different contexts will present unique opportunities and challenges. In creating this tool we used research and experience collaborating with community networks in rural Mexico and Argentina, the Philippines, and First Nations and Indigenous groups in Canada and the United States. Our hope is that the roadmap will provide both short- and long-term will provide ideas that a wide range of communities will find helpful in their efforts to overcome connectivity barriers.
Network planning and maintenance
The Community Network Roadmap is designed for communities in the early stages of considering a community network, as well as for those who already have a network in place and need resources for troubleshooting and maintenance.For communities in the early stages of thinking about community networks, the Roadmap provides an in-depth and research-based explanation of the many different issues, dimensions and considerations that arise in the process of building and maintaining community-driven broadband networks. Can happen.
For example, community relations and accountable decision-making processes are as important as network maps and device choices.
Furthermore, communities launching networks often ignore long-term issues such as succession planning, network expansion, equipment upgrades, and changing local needs. Bringing in medium and long-term ideas early on can make it easier to manage growth and change. The roadmap can also be used as a resource for troubleshooting specific problems.A global community resource
The Roadmap is designed with a DIY approach in mind – it's a document that we hope will help communities achieve connectivity goals using the resources they have. Feedback from communities will help us update and adapt it to better reflect the needs of those who use it. Connectivity plays a central role in helping individuals and communities today fully realize citizenship and belonging. How we move about in everyday life and participate politically and socially, and how we access educational opportunities, all now unfolds, at least in part, through digital networks.
Being excluded from digital communications often equates to being excluded from society.When communities are able to build and maintain broadband networks in accessible and reliable ways, they enjoy all the opportunities and benefits of digital communications. (talk) grs
GRS
