Bridging Africa's digital divide: The rise of community internet
来源:World Economic Forum;发表于:2022-01-21;人气指数:359
Bridging Africa's
digital divide: The rise of community internet
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/bridging-africas-digital-divide-the-rise-of-community-internet/
Africa is slowly bridging the digital divide.
Image: REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST
POLITICS ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TELECOMS)
03 Dec 2021
Kim Harrisberg
Water Rights Correspondent, Thomson Reuters Foundation
*In villages and townships, Africans are building their
own internet infrastructure to connect and protect the unconnected.
*Zenzeleni, a South African organization supporting
community-owned wireless internet service providers, serves tens of thousands
of devices with each device likely used by multiple family members.
*"Access to the internet is a human right." –
Simelane
As a child growing up in war-torn northern Uganda, Daniel
Komakech's education was interrupted every time he had to flee rebels and hide
in the bush for days to avoid being abducted.
Today, Komakech, 34, helps run a locally owned internet
network that ensures villagers in the former conflict zone can study and stay
in touch with each other - without unwanted interruptions.
"Accessing the internet was a turning point in my
life," said Komakech, programme coordinator for the non-profit Battery
Operated System for Community Outreach (BOSCO), one of a growing number of
community-led internet and phone networks in Africa.
"I study courses online, found jobs online ... I
even learned how to bake cakes for my children. That is the power of the
internet, it is my teacher," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by
phone.
Decentralised networks - where internet or communication
services are localised rather than monopolised by government or corporate
giants - give users more control over their data and privacy, researchers say.
Such networks could play a significant role in Africa
where internet access is scant and censorship and internet shutdowns pose an
increasing risk of "digital authoritarianism", they say.
About 80% of Europe's population is connected to the
internet, but in many parts of Africa access remains the preserve of a
minority, according to the International Finance Corporation.
In Uganda, only 26% of people have online access - one of
the lowest rates in sub-Saharan Africa, according to research site
DataReportal.
BOSCO, which has grown using a solar-powered system
linking satellites to portable computers and internet phones, is funded by donors,
but hopes to start selling internet access in the future and becoming a revenue
source for communities.
"Decentralised networks are helpful in allowing
people to communicate at a local level and they are less prone to
surveillance," said Hanna Kreitem, a senior advisor at the Internet
Society, a U.S.-based digital rights nonprofit.
In a report by the Internet Society, 37 community
networks initiatives were identified in 12 African countries, from South Africa
to Somalia.
37 community networks initiatives were identified in 12
African countries.
Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Handout courtesy of
BOSCO
Digital divide
Digital rights campaigners say there is space for
many more local networks - from rural Africa to internet surveillance hotspots
in Australia.
But local groups wanting to launch one face many
challenges including cost, policy and regulatory barriers as well as a general
lack of awareness about them, according to the Internet Society report.
Getting a commercial licence can be costly and
time-consuming, said Sol Luca de Tena, acting chief executive of Zenzeleni
Networks NPC, a South African organisation supporting community-owned wireless
internet service providers.
"We have shown that community networks can bridge
the digital divide but it is difficult to navigate the current regulatory
framework," said Luca de Tena.
"A licence is not easily accessible to rural,
lower-income communities," she added, citing the rural Eastern Cape
province where her organisation is based.
Despite the challenges, Zenzeleni has grown each year,
serving tens of thousands of devices with each device likely used by multiple
family members, she said.
It is also supporting several communities to design and
strengthen their networks in different provinces across the country.
Training sessions help improve digital knowledge.
Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Handout courtesy of
BOSCO
'A human right'
Another benefit of community networks is that users can
be more confident that their data is not being sold or used by big tech
companies without their consent or knowledge, said Komakech.
"We have no intention of monetising our users' data
... we don't want to lose the trust we have built over 14 years or take advantage
of them," he said.
Growing concern about how tech firms use personal data
partly explains the growth of community networks in more developed cities
around the world including Barcelona or New York City, digital
rights groups say.
Local networks are also less likely to be targeted by
surveillance operations, and mesh Wi-Fi messaging apps could allow users to
keep talking even if there is a total internet shutdown.
Understanding the legal risks of attempting to bypass
shutdowns through tools like VPNs is important in ensuring the safety of
citizens, Kreitem told the Thomson Reuters Foundation's annual Trust Conference
on Thursday.
"In Sudan, within the latest shutdown, people who
were active online were targeted offline and imprisoned for being able to
bypass restrictions," he said on a panel about the human impact of
internet shutdowns.
In Cape Town's Ocean View township, the iNethi platform
uses mesh routers, open-cellular base stations and open-source software to
allow residents free access to study material, file sharing and chat rooms.
Local servers in community networks allow people to
access and share content even when they have no internet connection - a
valuable resource when the cost of data and a fiber connection is prohibitive
for many, said Luca de Tena.
Accessing offline content could become more relevant
across the continent as internet blackouts increase, researchers say.
There were 25 internet shutdowns in Africa last
year, up from 21 a year earlier, according to the African Digital Rights
Network (ADRN) think-tank.
In one of the most recent, in the landlocked Kingdom of
eSwatini, a government-ordered internet slowdown took hold following
pro-democracy protests in July.
Melusi Simelane, a consultant working with the Southern
Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), recently took the government to court for
shutting down the internet.
He said lifting regulatory barriers was key to fostering
more community internet initiatives.
"We need governments to ease up regulation so people
can create local, independent network lines, then no one can infringe of
people's rights to express themselves or access information," Simelane
said.
"Access to the internet is a human right."