Index of Technological Sovereignty

The guifi.net Foundation analyzes the main telecommunications service operators to understand their commitment toTECHNOLOGICAL SOVEREIGNTY.

We understand technological sovereignty as thecitizen's ability to be informed and participate in the management and construction of telecommunications infrastructures. We understand access to the internet as a human right (UN, 2011) and work to develop an alternative that allows access to everyone without any type of discrimination, which promotes local economic development and a social economy based on principles of efficiency and sustainability.

Under this premise, we analyze companies according to the following5 principles:

1 Commons Network VS. Private Network

In the Commons Network or similar ones guarantees are offered that the infrastructure is managed collectively through participation guidelines that ensure equal opportunities and prevent speculative practices. The Private Network is when the owners of the infrastructure manage it according to their criteria and private interests, often involving bad practices (degradation of access quality to competitors' services, disinvestment, duplication of infrastructures, etc.) or speculative practices.

2 Inclusive Economy VS. Extractive Economy

The inclusive economy aims to provide opportunities for everyone and to distribute wealth among the various actors involved. In contrast, the extractive economy takes advantage of the resources generated in the market for the self-enrichment of some companies.

3 User attention in Catalan

We have focused on those companies that comply with Law 1/1998, of January 7, on linguistic policy. All companies that market in Catalonia must be able to serve the user in Catalan. There are still companies that do not comply!

4 Local headquarters VS. Multinational headquarters

We have evaluated those companies that have their headquarters in Catalan territory and, therefore, pay taxes and are governed by Catalan legislation.

5+ Social and solidarity economy with participatory functioning

We have observed those operators that meet the requirements of theESS(satisfaction of needs over profit, commitment to collective ownership and democratic management, commitment to the community, environmental sustainability, and gender equity,participatory functioning, transformative perspective of the economy and society). They are user cooperatives or associations (where members jointly decide where resources are allocated).

** Evaluation of the websites and the real possibility of telephone attention in Catalan

* They only attended to us in Catalan once over the phone. There is no section in Catalan on the website.

Updated table as of September 2019

Is there an operator you are interested in measuring? Let us know and we will analyze it!