Undoubtedly we live in the age of technology where IT already plays an important part in most people’s lives across the UK, and will increasingly do so in our young people's future. IT has the unique capacity to facilitate co-operative efforts among individuals, groups and organisations in pursuit of a common goal, who are separated by temporal, geographical, organisational, disciplinary, or even cultural boundaries.
Information Technology provides the infrastructure to support interaction, communication and knowledge-sharing. But are there more ways in which the development of IT skills can be used to stimulate virtual co-operation?
What tools, applications and software can be used to help reach shared goals more efficiently and effectively?
Community Broadband Network Link to website
First Mile Rural Community Broadbrand Project
Opensource.Org open source innitiative website
Springing Up All Over: The Rise of Community Broadband Malcolm Corbett, Director for Community Broadband Network, highlights the progress of community broadband and how initiatives across the UK are helping towns and villages bridge the ‘digital divide’.
Wireless Community Broadband Wireless Broadband Suppliers in the UK.
One Laptop per Child
Open Source
Community broadband
November 25th, 2008
By: Piya Malik
The internet is to today’s information revolution what coal was to the industrial revolution. It is central to our economy as well as having the same capacity for improving life chances and increasing prosperity.
Broadband is one small yet integral part of this technological advance. By speeding up communication, it facilitates the transfer of knowledge across physical boundaries.
However, many still remain excluded from the full opportunities that broadband can provide. In particular, rural and remote geographical regions deemed not profitable enough, often find themselves ignored by private sector service providers. This leaves many communities cut off, isolated and at a disadvantage, simply because they fall on the wrong side of the digital divide.
The national Community Broadband Network has helped found innovative community broadband projects in over 550 towns and villages around the UK . Democratically run as community based, not-for-profit enterprises, they focus on serving the whole community. Excess income generated is re-invested in system upgrades and lower subscriber rates.
What more can the Co-operative Party do to combat the digital divide? Are there polices that we can implement to further the development of community broadband projects in rural areas?
So, what are your thoughts: COMMENT ON THIS POST
Comments on Community broadband
Cllr Jonathan Bishop LLM says:
December 1st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
The Co-operative Party should see social enterprises and other co-operatives rather than government alone as the basis for tackling the digital divide. While the Government can pass laws on equality of opportunity, it is the co-operatives that can provide the supply-side solutions to reducing information poverty through education programmes as ‘my’ social enterprise is doing, increasing take-up of broadband where people are socially excluded, and providing digital services such as broadband as you described above to unprofitable communities. With a Co-operative Party working with all governments, our values and vision can be realised through enterprise and hard work.
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July 22nd, 2009 at 8:28 am
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January 14th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Just wanted to nip in after joining and say hello to all the folks on the forum . Look forward to following the conversations here!
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Comment on Community broadband