Considering the trends across worldwide, the Internet is pretty much becoming subject to the whims and fancies of telecommunication companies besides the fact that they do not reach each and every corner of any country. We have also seen that once there is an Internet shutdown or censored, almost all modes of communication also get subjugated and compromised. This raises the question whether internet is owned by handful of people or people own the internet in real sense. One of the ways to deliver that access is through community networks.
They are complementary method to provide the internet connectivity across various economies, sectors and technologies. Community networks also are a way to develop future business by creating “digitally savvy” communities, hungry for more local content and additional services. These often are not super high-tech networks. Taking the recommendations from the last year’s Community Network Exchange 2018, we tried to understand how ‘Community Networks’ as a technological alternative and infrastructurally independent can be looked at as an alternative to the Internet for people’s communications system. The theme of CNX 2019 was “Can Community Networks become Internet of People!” and saw participation from across South Asia. They indulged in interactive sessions to workshops wherein they explored various solutions that the community radios can initiate with the help of community network.