Weaving community with community fibre: community informatics and the broadband revolution

Unexpectedly, the widespread availability of very very high speed (Broadband) bandwidth into communities and within large centres has become not only a long-term possibility but an immediate reality. Optical fibre connections and trunk lines provide data speed and flow-through capacity at levels unimaginable only a few years ago. Widespread, and even universal distribution (in Canada for example) of Broadband connectivity is being widely discussed. This paper examines the range of community applications and the implications of the implementation of community based Broadband applications.