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Community Networks

8

Community-owned and operated communication infrastructure built for resilience and local control.

Case Studies— 5

  1. Cuba: Grid Collapse and the Diaspora Communication Blackout (2024)

    How a series of national power grid failures across 2024 left 10 million Cubans without electricity, cut mobile and internet services, and severed contact between the island and the nearly 3 million Cuban Americans trying to reach family from abroad.

    Cuba2024

  2. NYC Mesh: Community Internet Infrastructure

    How a volunteer-run WiFi mesh network grew to ~1,000 nodes across New York City, providing resilient internet access and demonstrating what community-owned infrastructure can sustain over a decade.

    New York City, New York2014

  3. Red Hook, Brooklyn: Community Mesh After Hurricane Sandy

    How a partially-deployed WiFi mesh network helped Red Hook survive Sandy, and why a community-owned network built before the disaster proved more valuable than anything deployed after.

    Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York2012

  4. Guifi.net: Europe's Largest Community Network

    How a farmer in rural Catalonia who couldn't get broadband built a community network that grew to 35,000 nodes, and the governance model that made it sustainable for two decades.

    Catalonia, Spain2004

  5. Freifunk: Germany's Open Wireless Movement and the Refugee Crisis Response

    How Germany's decentralized volunteer mesh network, built over a decade for open urban internet access, was rapidly mobilized to provide connectivity in hundreds of refugee shelters in 2015.

    Germany2003

Playbooks— 3

  1. Communication When You Didn't Prepare

    A disaster has happened. You have no radio, no mesh node, no plan. Here is what you can still do — right now — with a phone, a car, and common sense.

    Individual or household

  2. Mid-Size City Communication Network

    Build a city-wide resilient communication network for 5,000–100,000 residents. A phased approach through stakeholder mapping, AREDN backbone deployment, and community distribution.

    5,000–100,000 residents

  3. Small Town Communication Network

    Build a town-wide radio and mesh network for 500–5,000 residents in 3–6 months. Build on existing amateur radio clubs, install repeater infrastructure, and establish anchor points at key community facilities.

    500–5,000 residents