{"id":238644,"date":"2025-11-26T15:26:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?page_id=238644"},"modified":"2025-12-15T16:09:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:09:48","slug":"a-once-overlooked-tool-how-community-networks-connected-haiti-and-the-world","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/issues\/community-networks\/success-stories\/haiti\/","title":{"rendered":"A Once-Overlooked Tool: How Community Networks Connected Haiti and the World\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Once-Overlooked Tool: How Community Networks Connected Haiti and the World <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
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A community network is so much more than wires and routers. For a woman living in Barad\u00e8res, Haiti, a community network made it possible for her to video call and finally meet her grandchildren who live in the United States.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For others, community networks enable them to attend school, sell products, and find resources in times of crisis. They connect us across towns, across borders, and across the globe.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal to connect everyone is to improve their lives,\u201d said Obed Sindy, board member and former president of the Internet Society Haiti Chapter. \u201cEveryone deserves to have access to the Internet.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Community networks are a by-the-people, for-the-people approach to connectivity. Local residents deploy and operate them to meet their unique communication needs and bring affordable Internet to the area.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They first started popping up decades ago, but their journey to mainstream discussion and celebration within the Internet governance ecosystem took much longer.\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>

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An Overlooked Tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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About eight years ago, the Internet Society launched an advocacy campaign to spread the concept of community networks\u2014which were already used in the Asia-Pacific region\u2014globally.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe received a lot of pushback,\u201d recalled Sebastian Bellagamba, our vice president for external and community engagement who used to lead the initiative. \u201cThe concept of community networks couldn\u2019t fly for many years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of community-led projects didn\u2019t resonate well with governments, who didn\u2019t want to make exceptions to their regulations, or telecommunication operators, who had unfounded worries about profit losses.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Sebastian was skeptical of community networks when he first heard about them, wondering how much of a difference they could actually make. But he came around when he stopped only thinking about the number of people each one connected. Instead, he focused on creating an enabling environment for community networks to thrive and serve the people other providers wouldn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It wasn\u2019t just national entities that presented barriers. In 2022, at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication Development Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, the Internet Society team was working on a telecommunication development report and they ran into a challenge: the term \u2018community network\u2019 was not accepted and they weren\u2019t allowed to use it.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team compromised, and since they couldn\u2019t mention community networks by name, they used alternate language like \u2018complementary access solutions\u2019 instead. And this was still a huge win\u2014they were able to sell the idea behind community networks, even if the language hadn\u2019t quite caught up.\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Making a Difference with Community Networks\u202f <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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No one knows the power of community networks better than people who have seen their benefits firsthand, like the members of our Haiti Chapter, who have used them to connect thousands of people and respond to Haiti\u2019s unique needs and challenges.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chapter has partnered with several universities, for instance, to ensure that students can access online learning and other educational resources. In Port-au-Prince, where many universities are located, there is a high level of gang violence. Distance learning, already a key equity tool, is even more critical when many students cannot safely attend in-person classes.\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>

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As an island nation in the Caribbean, Haiti is also particularly prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events. Resilient connectivity is crucial in situations like these, so people can access information and resources. The chapter has worked with the national police and crisis management to provide connectivity support to help facilitate communication in times of crisis.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The reality is, for every community network, there is a story behind it.\u201d<\/div>