From the community: The Haiti Chapter of the Internet Society recently posted a video advocating for more community networks in the country. Internet access is a necessity during the COVID-19 health emergency, the Chapter said. Still, there is a challenge of providing access in rural areas of the country. The Chapter wants a plan that allows communities to build their own networks “where it is not yet economically viable for Internet service providers” to offer broadband service.
Going to school: The Kyrgyzstan Chapter has provided an update about its very active ilimBox project, which provides an Internet-in-a-box service to schools in the country. In late August, the ilimBox team, with the financial support of the European Union, installed 22 ilimBox devices in the border villages of Batken region.
Don’t split the Internet: The Greater Washington, D.C., Chapter has voiced opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to ban Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat from the U.S. The Chapter is “against breaking the Internet,” it wrote. The proposed ban “undermines the foundations of the Internet.” The Chapter’s statement echoes the position of the Internet Society as a whole.
Safety first: The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chapter has announced that it is partnering with the Get Safe Online organization to provide training of ambassadors, who become part of the wider global Get Safe Online team to protect the public and businesses from online threats.
Launching now: The Internet Society has launched a new Chapter in Comoros, the island nation off the coast of southeast Africa. “Since the country’s very first connection to the Internet in July 1998, the Internet industry has continued to evolve, along with telecommunications,” wrote Karim Attoumani Mohamed, vice president in charge of research and project management for the Comoros Chapter of the Internet Society. “The country is beginning to benefit from the rise in competition in the ICT sector, and as such the establishment of ISOC Comoros brings an added dimension to the development, promotion, and use of the Internet for the greater good of the entire country.”
News from space: Yosuke Kaneko, the new chairman of the Internet Society’s InterPlanetary Networking Special Interest Group, has unveiled his plans for the group. “It is my belief that the Inter-Planetary Network will one day become a resource for all humankind enabling exploration, science, innovation, commercial activities and connecting everything together that compose our normal daily lives,” he wrote.
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