How community networks could bridge ‘digital divide’

Internet user

Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) has published guidelines for licensing community networks to connect to the national broadband grid.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

What you need to know:

  • Can a rural farmers’ cooperative, for instance, set up their own radio station independent of NGO or corporate support?
  • How will the CA balance the commercial interests of existing internet service providers (ISPs) and community network upstarts?

Last month, the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) published guidelines for licensing community networks to connect to the national broadband grid. 

The Licensing and Shared Spectrum Framework for Community Networks Licensing and Shared Spectrum Framework for Community Networks may help regulators to tap into the opportunities from reducing the barriers to entry for small operators looking to build Internet networks within their communities.

But they also have loopholes. The policy seeks to address concerns around spectrum cost and regulatory roadblocks that network and service providers have had issues with for years. The CA has significantly brought down the hefty costs from Sh2 billion fees for a 10-year licence to Sh200,000 for 15 years, although that is besides other, smaller costs.

The tangible concessions could make a difference for operators looking to set up shop in sparsely populated and underserved areas outside the commercial hubs saturated with bigger players. But there are concerns that this has only partially addressed the barriers to entry, particularly for low-income community-based organisations.

Does the policy allow for community networks with little or no financial backing or those backed by nongovernmental and educational institutions set up and thrive to compete with the big players? Can a rural farmers’ cooperative, for instance, set up their own radio station independent of NGO or corporate support? And how will the CA balance the commercial interests of existing internet service providers (ISPs) and community network upstarts?

Kenya’s internet usage

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data show only 9.8 million of the 50 million citizens reported to have used the internet in the past three months, a paltry 4.5 million of whom used a desktop computer or tablet. Other studies show less than half of the population, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, have access to high-speed broadband (including mobile broadband). A Moody’s report earlier this month put Kenya’s internet usage at 24 per cent.

The policy is also silent on how the interests of the established ISPs will be balanced with that of the community networks, particularly where the former will supply wholesale data to the latter. Will it safeguard the investment by tier one operators?

The policy also proposes a regulatory sandbox at the CA, where innovative start-ups can test the commercial viability of their solutions before rolling out to market, which is welcome. An online information portal with simple, clear explanations or regular social media campaigns can help in sensitisation.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which Kenya wove into its Data Protection Act 2020, show the need for clarity in breaking down the technical language that keeps users oblivious of the implications of the technologies they use daily.

Ms Wanjiku is the CEO, Fireside Group. [email protected]