IGF 2019 Community Networks: Policy and Regulations

Information

Session

DC:

Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity (DC3)

Round Table - Circle - 90 Min

Theme:

Digital Inclusion

Subtheme:

Commons
Community Networks
Meaningful Connectivity

Description:

Over the past 4 years, the Dynamic Coalition on Community Connectivity (DC3) has successfully demonstrated that Community Networks (CNs) are feasible options to expand connectivity and that the communities behind CNs are reliable partners. The sound research and engagement activity promoted by DC3 has aroused the attention of an incredibly wide range of actors, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that co-sponsored the 2018 outcome, elaborated by DC3: the Community Network Manual: How to Build the Internet Yourself.

Besides the research demonstrating the feasibility and interest of CNs and instructions on how to build them, it is time to provide concrete suggestions for policymakers on how to facilitate CNs. To this extent, DC3 members have jointly elaborated the 2019 Annual Outcome document dedicated to Building Community Networks Policies: A Collaborative Governance towards Enabling Frameworks.

This booklet is jointly published by FGV, ITU and ISOC and will be distributed at the DC3 session. The volume was developed in a participatory manner by DC3 members, starting from works developed by various CN advocates and researchers over the past years. Such works include the Declaration on Community Connectivity; the netCommons the Open letter to EU policy makers, the Declaration of the First Latin American Summit of Community Network, etc.

The goal of the DC3 outcome document is to act as a working document from which all interested stakeholders can take inspiration to start constructive discussions on how to facilitate CNs through the most appropriate policy frameworks

The IGF session will have the following agenda:

Introduction and presentation of DC3 and its work
Keynote remarks
Presentations of case studies
Discussion of the proposed policy elements
Discussion of next steps and further actions for DC3

Organizers:

Luca Belli, FGV Law School

Speakers:

Luca Belli, FGV Law School
Cristina Data, Ofcom
Jane Coffin, ISOC
Edison Lanza, Organization of American States Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression
Carlos Baca, Rhizomatica
Carlos Rey-Moreno, APC
Adam Burns, Free2Air
Julie Owono, Internet Sans Frontières

SDGs:

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequalities
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Reference Document: http://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/dspace/handle/10438/19401

Report

1. Key Policy Questions and Expectations:

The IGF session will have the following agenda:

Introduction and presentation of DC3 and its work
Keynote remarks
Presentations of case studies
Discussion of the proposed policy elements
Discussion of next steps and further actions for DC3

2. Discussion Areas:

The session precisely aimed to provide suggestion of what could be the policy elements that could facilitate community connectivity. Participants see citizen’s empowerment, in this sense, as a very suitable option to expand connectivity and to enhance the quality of life of individuals.

In this matter, many participants observed that there are huge gaps in Community Connectivity inside of the countries. In the United States, for example, it happens especially in the tribal lands were big operators were provided with spectrum licenses but don't provide services. To the majority of the presents, this has to do with discrimination of access. In Mexico, the most recent survey on the penetration of telecom services stated that only 45% of the people make use of a computer and 74% have a cell phone. And this data is underestimated since they are counting all the phones existing in the country but not all the people that really use them.

Participants observed as essential to consider access to Internet and to information, as well as the capability to receive and spread information, as fundamental rights. Furthermore, relevant communities of indigenous people have problems regarding the lack of access to the Internet in the Americas.

Another subject highlighted by the participants was the fact that building community’s connectivity could improve people's living conditions and avoid them to be victims of arbitrary shutdowns. On the other hand, this is not easy, especially in some contexts of authoritarianism.

3. Policy Recommendations or Suggestions for the Way Forward:

Participants point out that there is still much work to do when it comes to community building, and spaces like IGF, which helps to connect people, can be helpful to produce these changes. Also, most of the participants agreed that the first thing that regulators have to do before reading any booklet is going to communities asking local people what their real needs are. Since one of the main challenges of Community Networks policymaking is the size of territories, bottom-top policies could be a great way out to solve this type of issue. To empower communities and to give them the tools to create and manage their connectivity’s should produce a new scenario of access to the Internet.

4. Other Initiatives Addressing the Session Issues:

The Germany initiative Freifunk joins with In-Berlin to provides a non-commercial Internet Exchange dedicated to non-profit and project-based groups. This initiative will handle peering for all of these initiatives. A growing number of regional groups are now connected into core peering agreements with the Internet. In Mexico, there's the indigenous connectivity model, linked to the community of Oaxaca. The communities own and can manage the network under the umbrella of TIC-AC.

5. Making Progress for Tackled Issues:

There is still much to debate in order to guarantee that communities can have control of digital infrastructures. Participants observed that, in short, there is a need to speed up connections. Regulators should start giving the licenses to the communities. Furthermore, also, global influences should be more progressive on community networks and other life‑changing technologies used by community networks.
This debate has to do with the empowerment of the people. Nowadays, in many countries, the access to the Internet is a fundamental right, but in some authoritarian countries, there is a considerable danger because it gives power to citizens to find ways to express and interact among themselves.

6. Estimated Participation:

Onsite and online: 60 and 85

Women onsite: 30

7. Reflection to Gender Issues:

The session didn’t discuss gender issues, but gender should appear as an imbricated subject when we speak about the negative externalities that inequalities on the access of the internet may trigger.

8. Session Outputs:

https://t.co/ZbutE6n8Z3?amp=1

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