Community Networks
Success Stories

a woman posing for a photo smiling at camera

Community Networks
Success Stories

Communities worldwide are coming together to build and maintain their own networks where traditional Internet services are yet to reach.

Farmers, students, entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers, and many more. People and community organizations are leading the way with one goal: to connect their communities to the Internet.

For 33 percent of the world, on every continent, in rural, remote, and even urban communities, each day without Internet access is a day of lost opportunity.

We help and provide grant funding to build community networks. Read their success stories.

53

community networks supported

funds granted (in USD)*

* since January 2020

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Featured Stories

a group of women surfing the Internet in a huge conference room

Elizabeth Pacheco set herself a goal: to grow and sell organic produce. She is one of the nearly 700 people in Puesto García, Bolivia, who can now use the Internet in the new connectivity center to learn and improve the local economy.

The new community network, as a part of a project to connect and empower Indigenous women across the South American Chaco, is already changing lives across the region.

Two people on the top of a hill looking toward the horizon with the hamlet of Ulukhaktok and the ocean in the distance.

Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

In Canada, 33 communities live in the vast and remote Northwest Territories. One of the challenges First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people face is the lack of connectivity: it’s hard to get infrastructure there, and the lack of economic incentives means these communities have been left behind for years.

But in 2023, all that started to change when the people of Ulukhaktok launched their own community network.

a boy sitting in front of the computer in a classroom smiling

Khunde and Khumjung, Nepal

Children in the Khumjung school are more excited about their computer class than usual. The reason? They’re finally using the Internet—after years of learning about it only through textbooks.

All thanks to a local initiative, in partnership with the Internet Society, that built the highest community network in the world.

a woman looking at the phone sitting at the top of the hill

Mamaila, South Africa

Kgopotso Magoro, inspired by an OpEd that claimed that “coming from a rural area is like being cursed” for the lack of opportunities available, started a journey that would lead to the creation of the Mamaila Community Network.

Teenage girl sitting at a table, using a desktop computer and a boy looking over her shoulder.

Shaghap, Armenia

In Shaghap, Armenia, over 170 families live in a quiet area far from urban centers. Agriculture and husbandry have long been their main source of income. But the lack of new opportunities has led to the exodus of Shaghap’s youth to the capital city of Yerevan where they can find other jobs and create better opportunities for their future. With Internet connectivity, they hope to change that.

Five people in the field next to some pine trees.

Buenos Aires, Cauca, Colombia

To overcome decades of conflict and isolation, a Colombian community builds their own network. With the right policies they might be able to use it.

Learn how the community and local organizations are working to change regulations and reconnect to the world.

Contribute to a world where everyone can benefit from the Internet’s opportunities.

Image copyrights:
© Nyani Quarmyne, © Gustavo Castellanos Echazú, © Natalie Campbell, © Nyani Quarmyne, © Nyani Quarmyne, © Internet Society, © Colnodo