Connecting
the Unconnected
Community networks help bridge the connectivity gap.
The Internet makes it possible to connect to education, work, and each other. We are at our very best when this happens. But not everyone has equal access to the opportunities the Internet brings. We need solutions where the people who use the Internet are empowered to bring it to those who don’t. Community networks can help. A community network is when individuals come together to establish and maintain an Internet connection themselves. Internet by the people, for the people.
![students at a class](https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Nepal-students-min.jpg)
Growing the Internet
We’re helping close the global digital divide by:
- Supporting initiatives to deploy Internet infrastructure to connect those who need it most
- Supporting the development of local technical skills
- Promoting more favorable policies on licensing, spectrum, and public funding for community networks
- Working with partners to identify and leverage funding opportunities for local infrastructure
Get Involved
![kids looking at computer screen smiling](https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/kids-in-front-computer-450x201.jpg)
![Women in the DDCN training course getting hands-on experience with hardware.](https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/hands-on-ddcn-training.jpg)
![a group of women surfing the Internet in a huge conference room](https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NANUM-ladies-small.jpg)
![four men sitting on the ground and talking](https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Builders-small.jpeg)
Latest News
Five Key Takeaways from the Summit in Asia-Pacific on Deploying, Sustaining, and Scaling Community Networks
‘These Are Our First Roadways’: Internet Access and Self-Determination in Pu’uhonua O Waimanalo
In Colombia: Latin American Summit on Community Networks
2019 Chapterthon – Our Chapters, Connecting the World One Community at a Time
Beyond the Palm Trees: Local Action Key to Fast, Affordable and Reliable Internet Solutions in Rural Hawai’i
Resources
Image copyrights:
© Nyani Quarmyne, © Nyani Quarmyne, © Nyani Quarmyne, © Gagny Traoré, © Gustavo Castellanos Echazú, © Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF)