Community wireless networks: Emerging wireless commons for digital inclusion

Community wireless networks (CWNs) have emerged as collective actions where communities develop common telecommunication infrastructure for their use. These collective projects have gained widespread popularity as they serve as digital highways for community members to join the information society. This paper explores the role of CWNs in achieving digital inclusion. In particular, we used a survey-based instrument to measure the size and the capacity of a number of networks. We also explored other related variables such as service pricing, funding instruments and the life duration of the investigated CWNs to distinguish them from similar networks. This study provides useful theoretical accounts and analytical insights that we believe that can guide future studies and advance CWNs as a form of common projects. Also, it has the potential to help policy makers and community developers in promoting such collective projects.