Despite rapid technological advancements reported in some of the member countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), rural schools in developing countries are left largely unconnected and under-resourced. The slow progress poses two challenges.

Since December 2015, the Internet Society, in partnership with COMSATS Internet Services, has been implementing a pilot initiative in Chak-5 Faiz, a rural village in Pakistan, as part of the Wireless for Communities (W4C) Programme. This programme focuses on last mile connectivity in rural and remote areas, which involves developing communities’ capacity to build and operate the wireless network, and empowering them to create and use digital services.