Challenges in Sustaining Municipal Broadband Networks in the Developing World

Municipal or community networks seem to be a constructive first step in the process of establishing sustainable broadband networks in areas where the demand for broadband communication services is larger than the supply. Besides meeting the acute demand, one purpose is to stimulate the market by demonstrating connectivity feasibility, to reduce the risks involved for commercial actors. One of the keys to the sustainability and scalability of such networks is a well designed and managed institutional framework based on the local prerequisites.

In this paper, we report on our experience from the establishment of the Serengeti Broadband Network in Northern Tanzania. We have been using a public-private partnership approach to create a not-for-profit organization to manage and operate a network first deployed as a research and education effort. We present and discuss our approach, comparing and contrasting to other approaches found in the literature. We conclude that success requires local ownership. Thus, the institutional framework should aim at creating local commitment and leadership.