Housing & Infrastructure
as Internet access has been proven to have a significant impact on minimizing the
digital divide. However, progress has thus far been slow because traditional
models of providing Internet access are not economically efficient and may not be
applicable to geographically disadvantaged locations where infrastructure is
difficult to set up.
Community networks have been recognized in several countries across the world
as an alternative mode of providing or extending Internet access. They have
proven to be more effective in certain situations and many successful community
networks have emerged and continue to thrive in various parts of the world.
BayanihaNets is a pilot project that introduces the concept of community
networks to the Philippines. Building on the deep cultural tradition of bayanihan
among Filipinos, the researchers designed mechanisms that would enable and
incentivize the sharing and pooling of resources for Internet connectivity. Often,
there is an abundance of idle or unused Internet bandwidth among private
Internet subscriptions, while other users have poor or no connection. By
configuring the network such that unused bandwidth could be made available to
others, users can “borrow bandwidth” to either improve their existing
connection, or gain access when there is no affordable public Internet service.
By making sharing tangible and keeping the underlying mechanisms of the
technology invisible, the researchers have shown through experiments conducted
in the residential area of the UP Diliman campus that the framework helps to
encourage users to adopt a bayanihan attitude towards Internet resources. Those
with connectivity are incentivized to provide better and more affordable Internet
access to those without. Going beyond technological solutions, BayanihaNets is a
movement or advocacy for seeing Internet connectivity as a resource that could
be shared to others to help bridge the digital divide.
Funded by: DOST-PCIEERD
UP Diliman SALIKSIKHAY | 35