This is a must-read for the CN movement. To document the benefits of, and challenges facing, small-scale, community-based connectivity projects, APC researchers visited 12 rural community networks in the global South in 2018 and studied a number of others through desk research and interviews. The primary goal of the research is to provide information that can be used for evidence-based policymaking that will contribute to creating a more enabling environment for small community-based local access networks. In addition, the research aimed to identify opportunities for these networks to be more effective and, hopefully, to encourage more organizations to support the development of these networks in the future.