The recent COVID-19 pandemic, and associated mitigation strategies of social distancing and self-isolation, has elevated the importance of telecommunications networks. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, and associated mitigation strategies of social distancing and self-isolation, has elevated the importance of telecommunications networks. In the current era there is little dispute amongst governments and at the highest levels of the United Nations in respect of the right of all citizens, regardless of their station in life, to have unfettered access to the Internet. However, despite substantive investments in telecommunications infrastructure development, a plethora of policy interventions and three world summits on the Information Society, more than half of the world’s population remain unconnected. Over recent years, an emerging solution to the problem has been a bottom-up model of telecommunications ownership, referred to as community networks. There are varying approaches to community networks and different modes of implementation are observed across the globe. However, there is little evidence and consensus on what are all of the necessary elements of the system that comprise a successful community network. In light of this, this paper takes a first step towards the development of a comprehensive framework of the community network ecosystem. Based on the extant literature, a four-pronged People, Technology, Organization and Environment (PTOE) framework is derived. This is then subjected to qualitative analysis against descriptive reports of 11 existing community networks. The final framework and its sub-components provides a holistic and comprehensive perspective of the community network ecosystem. It serves as a basis for further analysis and research of community networks models and also as a means of informing practical implementation of both current and future community networks.

最近的COVID-19大流行以及相关的社会疏远和自我隔离的缓解策略，提高了电信网络的重要性。最近的COVID-19大流行以及相关的社会疏远和自我隔离的缓解策略提高了电信网络的重要性。在当前时代，各国政府和联合国最高层在所有公民，无论其生活地位如何，享有不受束缚地访问互联网的权利方面几乎没有争议。但是，尽管在电信基础设施开发方面进行了实质性投资，进行了大量的政策干预以及在信息社会上举行了三届世界首脑会议，但世界上有一半以上的人口仍然没有联系。近年来社区网络。社区网络的方法多种多样，全球观察到的实施方式也不同。但是，对于组成一个成功的社区网络的系统的所有必要元素，几乎没有证据和共识。有鉴于此，本文迈出了开发社区网络生态系统综合框架的第一步。根据现有文献，得出了一个四管齐下的人，技术，组织和环境（PTOE）框架。然后针对11个现有社区网络的描述性报告进行定性分析。最终框架及其子组件为社区网络生态系统提供了全面而全面的视角。