Michael Suantak
The Community Wireless Cooperative (CWC) by Alternative Solutions for Rural Communities (ASORCOM) is a sustainable, low-cost approach to expanding internet connectivity to rural, remote and underserved areas of Myanmar. The proposed project seeks to establish a seeding organisation that develops autonomous, community-managed wireless infrastructures to overcome barriers to access in rural and remote communities. These infrastructures, known as mesh networks or meshnets, will be managed by a new digitally linked constituency of alternative network operators to provide information and communication services to their communities and catalyse new social and economic development opportunities. The new information constituencies will also be in a position to represent the interests of Myanmar’s digitally underserved communities and contribute policy recommendations for the design and implementation of Myanmar’s ICT infrastructure and proposed Universal Service Fund.