The National Advisory Committee organized under the Supervision of Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has advocated to the Federal Government to establish a policy for community Networks to enhance more visibility and sustainability.
Our Correspondent reports that Community networks have failed to take root in Nigeria because we do not have a national policy to guide their emergence.
As well provide a supportive environment for communities to leverage various opportunities to bridge the connectivity gaps in their community.
Mrs Mary Udu Co Chair of the Community Network Advisory made the call at the Committee meeting on Friday at the Command Guest House in Bauchi,
She called on government for a change in policy on community networks so that the communities will be given free spectrum to do their community network,
“It is only through this community network that members of the communities can develop this network, own it, manage it, operate it and benefit from it.
“That is why we are training these micro organizations to know that they can do business out of it.
“We do school on community network to train communities to know that it is possible to own communication network and we are working with seven communities now” she said
Udu explained that the work of the committee is to advise CITAD and micro organizations on how to go about developing community networks in their respective areas, stressing that some clusters of communities in Nigeria do not have access to networks.
She added that through the meeting of the committee, they were able to organize schools on community networks, train so many communities as well as the training of young girls in schools.
On his part, Executive Director, CITAD, Yunusa You decried the digital divide in many communities in the country, pointing out that in 97 clusters of communities, there are 27.1 million persons who have no access to network.
He said that CITAD has already developed a Network Tester app that usually test the signal strength of any community,
He said that the idea behind the establishment of the community network was to mobilize communities affected by absence of a network, and build their capacities in order for them to generate their resources to build their own community networks.
“We are working in those communities that are classified as under-served in order to sensitize them, build their capacities as well as get them to strategize in order to mobilize resources in those communities so that they can address the issue of lack of connectivity by themselves rather waiting for the government or the private Network operators”
“We are working in seven communities across three states namely Jama’are and Itas in Bauchi State, Kafanchan in Kaduna State and four sites in rural communities of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja that includes Tungen Ashere, Dakwa Community, Pasepa and Leleyi Gwari.
The advisory committee is the think tank where we met, discuss ideas, challenges and propose solutions, however the building of community network requires a policy for it to thrive.We are working with government to ensure that there is a policy that will allow community networks to survive”
“We do a lot of advocacy work, meeting with the government agencies and ministry such as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) ,Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Ministry of digital economy to fashion out what the policy would look like” he said