The netCommmons Team

The netCommons project

netCommons is a Horizon2020 research project, which follows a novel transdisciplinary methodology on treating network infrastructure as commons, for resiliency, sustainability, self-determination, and social integration. Project partners have expertise in engineering, computer science, economics, law, political science, urban, media, and social studies; and close links with successful Community Networks like guifi.net, ninux.org, and sarantaporo.gr.

Recent blog entries

Draft report on "Electronic Telecommunications Code" calls for immediate action

On March 17th, the Industry committee of the European Parliament (ITRE) – responsible for assessing the proposed Code – has issued its draft report, which will contain the main amendments that will be discussed by the whole Parliament in few months. Until April 4th, members of the ITRE committee may propose further amendments to this report. Such additional amendments will be necessary given that, in its current state, the draft report is even worse than the initial proposal, aggravating the gap between small operators and incumbents, extending to 30 years the duration of radio spectrum rights and removing the initial provisions in favor of the open spectrum. Its sole merit is to remove the administrative fees for small operators.

Letter to EU Policy-Makers: Making Regulation Work for Community Networks

UPDATE: The consultation is now closed and a joint press release is published on March 16th, 2017. Help us to spread the word!

After many discussions with many European Community Networks (CNs), researchers from netCommons are happy to present a draft open letter on "policy recommendations for sustaining Community Networks".

CNs promoted as 'the other' way to connectivity at IGF2016

The Internet Governance Forum 2016 was this year in Guadalajara, Mexico, on December 5-9 2016. There were lots of events: pre-events, post-events, lots of conferences, workshops, booths, tents, side-meetings, parties. netCommons was there and participated in many events through Roger Baig and Leandro Navarro (guifi.net and UPC).

...see all the blog entries

Recent and future events

Participatory Design, beyond the local

Four EU Horizon2020 CAPS projects, commonfare, empatia, MAZI, and netCommons, collaborate in the organization of a workshop titled "Participation Design, beyond the local", hosted at the 8th conference on Community & Technologies, June 26-30, Troyes, France.

Building Community with the Help of ICTs

Accessing the Internet day in, day out is part of everyday life. But we take for granted that the way we access the Internet is via a service provider, usually among the largest for-profit corporations in the world. We rarely think about whether there are alternative forms of Internet infrastructure that do not operate access as profitable business. This event explores community networks as alternative forms of Internet access and presents two talks on community networks by experts who come from academia and industry.

GAIA Community Networks: Sustainability & Regulation Workshop

netCommons participates in the organization of the next GAIA workshop in Cambridge, January 26 & 27, 2017, about the development of local networking infrastructures using cooperative & open-access management schemes.

...see all the event entries

Recent news

The IEEE Internet Inclusion Advancing Solutions

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netCommons was at the IEEE Internet Inclusion WS in Washington, D.C., during two days of events on 24 April and 25

See you at the Battlemesh v10

The first week of June in Vienna, there will be the tenth edition of the Wireless Battle of the Mesh (WBM). WBM is the most important international community-organized event that gathers all the activists of community networks around the Europe, and lately, also from outside Europe. During the event the developers of the most used open source routing protocols set-up a testbed and "battle" to understand which protocol performs better.

Open letter to EU policy makers on community networks

Today, more than 30 European Community Networks, joined by over 35 supporting organizations from around the world, are sending an open letter to EU policy-makers. At a time when the European Union is paving the way for a major reform of telecommunications policy, the letter makes a number of recommendations to ensure the continuous development of these citizen initiatives, which provide an alternative, democratic and sustainable way to manage telecom infrastructures and meet the goals of broadband policies.

... see all the past news