South Africa's digital landscape is often described as contradictory. While 98.8% of the population is covered by 4G infrastructure, about 21% – more than 13 million people – remain offline, mainly in rural, township and sub-urban areas. As reported by the National Strategy for Community Networks, only 1.7% of rural households are connected compared to 13% in urban areas, and the cost of connectivity remains prohibitive for low-income communities. A family may have to spend up to 38.4% of their monthly income to purchase just one gigabyte of data.
In parallel, in eight of the country's nine provinces, community-centred connectivity initiatives (CCCI) are working to close these gaps – providing affordable, reliable internet in areas ignored by commercial providers – leading to progress in education, health care and local economic development. But in doing so, they also face a lack of opportunities to access key resources for their initiatives to flourish and grow.
These CCCIs face significant challenges in accessing not only connectivity, but also licenses, spectrum and financial support. Access to these resources is governed by norms and policies that, until now, have been shaped largely without the meaningful participation of the communities they affect.
“Policy and regulation in the telecommunications sector has historically been designed with large commercial operators in mind, with the assumption that benefits will flow to everyone else. But the reality on the ground tells a different story,” highlighted Yumna Pandey, national coordinator of the Zenzeleni Community Network and Local Networks (LocNet) initiative for South Africa.
Zenzeleni is a symbolic community network in South Africa, located in the OR Tambo district in the east of the country. His experience shows what is possible when policy meets people. When the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) introduced a licensing exception for community networks, a rural community was able to build and own its own telecommunications infrastructure – bringing affordable connectivity to villages that commercial operators had no intention of serving. Yumna explains, “In practice this means affordable access and the opportunities that come with it for communities who have almost none. So, policy can change lives, but only if it is designed with people in mind at the centre, not as a footnote.”
Supported by a new national strategy for community networks, these communities have the opportunity to make their voices heard in the places where these resources are regulated – places that have historically been difficult to access for marginalized groups.
A strategy on the way to action
National Strategy for Community Networks There is a three-year action plan (2025-2027) developed through a comprehensive multistakeholder process. The document is based on a strong premise: “community networks provide a proven alternative” for meaningful digital participation.
The strategy defines priorities around policy reform, sustainable financing, capacity building and social inclusion – and these are already being implemented. As well as launching the scheme, this process also catalysed the creation of the Community Network South Africa (CNSA) Association, which was established to align efforts across the region.
As Kathleen Diga, co-manager of the Loknet program at the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), says: “Within the national strategy, there is an emphasis on an enabling policy and regulatory environment – and in particular we ensure that disadvantaged and rural areas have a voice.” In the way of amplifying those voices, Catheen also highlighted the importance of guaranteeing that “those engaging with government have the confidence and guidance to speak, write and interact in public consultation processes and forums.”
Solid opportunities ahead: ECA Bill and spectrum regulation
Despite the contradictions in the country, South Africa presents an advanced and progressive policy environment for digital inclusion, including national development planThe ICT Policy White PaperThe Digital and future skills strategy And sa connect. However, significant gaps remain in how civil society organizations, community networks, small Internet service providers, and local governments engage in digital policy making.
The strategy's emphasis on policy participation is particularly timely. Two important processes are on the horizon, and both represent important windows for community networks to shape the rules governing their work.
The first is the anticipated Electronic Communications Amendment (ECA) Bill. This legislation has the potential to reshape the way connectivity infrastructure is regulated in South Africa, including provisions that could impact licensing, access and operating conditions for small and community-based operators. A version of the bill has just been passed, and public consultation processes around it will require community networks and civil society to be present, informed and vocal.
The second is spectrum regulation. A precedent was the 2024 “Next Generation” radio frequency spectrum policy which includes community networks already accepting the language. Ongoing developments – including draft rules on the management of the 3800-4200 MHz and 5925-6425 MHz bands – will determine who gets access to the airwaves and under what conditions.
“The future of connectivity in South Africa is bright, as the timing is right with the current movement in policy, interest in seeing community networks as social enterprises based on sustainability and local economic development through digital. If stakeholders are truly willing to tackle systematic and deliberate digital inclusion for rural communities, we are not far off” explains Kathleen Diga, co-manager of APC Loknet.
South African School of Digital Policy: Building the capacity to engage
To meaningfully engage in these processes, communities need more than goodwill – they need skills, tools, and confidence. This is the aim of the South African School of Digital Policy – Community Networks Edition (ZASDIP 2026/CN), being held in Johannesburg from 12 to 16 April 2026.
Strengthening community-centric connectivity requires more than infrastructure; It depends on skills, knowledge and local capacity. With these needs in mind, communities are not only building technical expertise but also developing participatory, bottom-up learning approaches tailored to their realities.
Led by CNSA, with participation from Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, Mamaila Community Network, Soweto Wireless User Group (SOWUG) and Zenzeleni, JASDIP 2026/CN is organized by Locnet – jointly run by APC and Rhizomatica – with the support of the British High Commission in Pretoria and the UK Government's Digital Access Programme. It will be marked by the participation of Solly Malatsi, the country's Minister of Communications and Digital Technology.
“The courses and certification options available in South Africa were designed for commercial operators and do not reflect the realities of what community network practitioners actually do,” Yumna reflects. “That's why the School of Community Networks curriculum standardization work matters. For the first time, there has been a deliberate effort to develop and accredit a curriculum that speaks to the specific skills and realities of community networks,” she explains.
In a policy context, the challenge is how to incorporate all this knowledge, experiences and needs into the advocacy process. “Community network practitioners know their work deeply. It's hard to build the capacity to translate that knowledge into the language of policy, investment, advocacy,” says Pandey, sharing his perspective from the experience of Zenzeleni and CCCI. “This gap keeps community voices away from the places where decisions affecting them are made, and closing it is one of the more difficult and underestimated dimensions of capacity building in the region.”
The upcoming ZASDIP edition proposes to combine theoretical learning with practical practice, covering internet infrastructure, policy and regulation, digital economics and human rights governance. inspired by African School of Internet Governance (AFRISIG)It is designed to combine policy knowledge with lived community experience – and to equip participants with the analytical tools and advocacy skills to engage in upcoming public consultations, including the ECA Bill.
“The school is hoping to generate some interest and excitement around the policy,” says Kathleen. “We hope to make it informative as well as engaging – and that the training brings forward strong fellowship and collective purpose. With strong commitment and guidance, we see rural voices being increasingly heard in these processes.”
And Yumna says: “For too long, the conversations shaping telecommunications policy and infrastructure investment have taken place without community networks in the room. Policy that is made without the presence of their representatives will continue to serve everyone except them.” And it is this reality that these initiatives aim to change.