Offline Internet Consortium

Abstract

The Offline Internet Consortium (OLI) brings together partners (NGOs, development agencies, libraries, etc.) who work in the unique space of providing access to networked information to communities that do not have broadband access. Some are physically remote, some are economically undeveloped, some are experiencing emergencies (post-conflict, post-disaster, incarceration), some suffer political censorship and oppression. Since 2018, the Offline Internet Consortium has built a community of practice, research and advocacy, and supported collaboration, and cooperation among the consortium members. We have proven that there are creative technology and content-provision solutions that can make a meaningful difference. The Consortium’s White Paper published in 2024 makes it clear that there is a spectrum of connectivity, from the most privileged to the most challenged, and that offline solutions will play an important part in bridging gaps. Our members, for example, include an American university working in refugee camps around the world, locally-originated consortia addressing needs of specific communities, and at least two organizations working in societies where access to the public internet is heavily controlled by ideologically restrictive state organs. We continue to promote wider uptake of these kinds of solutions to problems in many societies.